Sanctuaire
by BuggyFiction
Summary: On a class trip to New Orleans, Bella stumbles upon history like she never anticipated. Learning about one's self is never easy, but discovering new things is always an adventure to true independence. Witch!Kol/Bella pairing.
1. Stay Away From Her

Warning for abuse.

This Kol is witch!Kol.

* * *

"We need to get out of here," he said as he pulled her to her feet and grabbed her bag.

"No," Bella growled as she pulled herself out of the boy's grasp and grabbed her bag out of his hands. "I'm not going anywhere with you. I don't know you. You... you just bumped into me and told me that _we_ need to get out of here." She held her bag close as she looked up at him.

"This area is being evacuated," the boy explained after a moment of silence. "Gas leak."

"Then you could have said something before," Bella huffed as she stomped out of the little cafeteria she had gone in to to temporarily hide from Edward and his siblings. They were on a senior school trip in New Orleans, but even though she really really liked Edward's company, for some reason he - and his brothers and sisters - were overly protective over her and it drove her insane.

The Cullens had already made sure that her other friends, Jess and Mike for example, didn't talk to her anymore and it just really sucked. She wasn't sure what to think of that, to be honest, maybe it was for Bella's own safety now that the Volturi were still after her and Edward. It had been so much easier if the damn Volturi would just stay away or get their heads lopped off so that they wouldn't bother them again. Bella knew about keeping secrets, why didn't they trust her to keep theirs?

The moment she stepped out of the cafeteria, however, Edward and Alice were beside her, with both of them sporting a look of disapproval. "What?" She groaned. "I was safe. I was in..." she couldn't even finish her sentence because the blinds of the cafeteria fell shut and the door closed with a slam. Looking around, she wasn't able to find the boy who had wanted her to get out of there and she was instantly worried. What if the gas leak he mentioned would caused the cafeteria explode and kill him? "There's someone in there, you need to get him out."

"We don't need to do anything," Edward said as he protectively put an arm around her and started to pull her away from the cafeteria. "Jasper found a great place that serves good food. You're going to love it."

"Edward, no! You don't understand, there's-" Bella said as she tried to pull out of his hold but, of course, he was stronger than she was.

"Forget what happened in there," Alice said as she gently caressed Bella's arm. "It's none of our business."

"But the gas leak..."

"There's no gas leak. It'll be fine, but you have to get out of here."

"Why?"

"Keep quiet and come with us, Bella," Edward said with a smile on his face as they continued to walk down the street. "This trip was a bad idea."

"It's for extra credit, Edward," Bella muttered, knowing from his tightened hold on her that she had to drop the matter. "And since I'm already doing bad with history, you and Carlisle agreed that -"

"It was a mistake," Edward repeated calmly. "Rosalie is already talking to the teacher. Telling her that we're leaving tomorrow."

"What?" Bella blinked at him. "You can't do that."

"You're not feeling well. Of course we can ask if we can go home earlier," Alice smiled brightly at Bella. "We can totally do that."

Bella managed to get out of Edward's hold and stopped in the middle of the sidewalk. "No. You can go home, but - but I'm staying." Vampires didn't need to breathe, however she could see both Cullens slump their shoulders as if they were letting out a deep breath. She knew that she tried their patience at times, especially now, but she loved the atmosphere in New Orleans. It was uncomplicated and the streets were usually always buzzing and there wasn't a dull moment. She knew for a fact that Charlie would love it here too.

"We've talked about this, Bella," Edward said after sharing a look with Alice. No doubt they were communicating telepathically. Bella always _hated_ that. She never knew what was going on and only had their word to go on. She was fortunate that both Edward and Alice couldn't get into her head otherwise hell would have broken loose months ago. "It's not safe for you here."

Bella sighed as she lowered her head and nodded slowly.

"I think that you are mistaken," a voice sounded threateningly from behind them. Upon turning around, they looked upon a man with dirty blond hair, some scruff on his face and Bella had to admit, beautiful blue eyes. "The lot of you are soiling your underwear... Well, you would, if you'd still be capable of doing so. The lady said _no_."

"As if that ever stopped _you_," Edward shot at him and put his hand on Bella's shoulder as if he made an effort to claim her.

The man blinked before a wide smirk magically appeared on his face. "Oh, how the mighty have fallen."

"Mind your own business, Niklaus," Edward bit at him as he pushed a surprised Bella towards Alice, who protectively put an arm around her and tried to usher her off.

"Let go of the girl, little imp," Niklaus said with a tone of warning in his voice. "I recall her saying she wished not to leave. You know very well what would happen if you don't let go."

Alice gasped at whatever vision she she received, quickly letting go of Bella and spun around to face the Original vampire. "You should listen to my brother, Niklaus," she said, not breaking eye contact with him. "Get lost."

"But I am listening Imp," he laughed. "You're in _my_ city where I'm sticking to my own knitting and I simply do not like Cold Ones harassing young women in _my _city. No wait, I simply don't like you so I advise you to watch your manners."

"We'll be going home tomorrow. Mind your own business until then and stay out of ours," Edward said coolly before grabbing Bella again by her shoulders and tried to lead her away. "Start walking, Bella."

"If it's the Volturi you're scared of, Bella," Niklaus addressed her by name at her retreating back. "I can assure you that you're safer in this city than with the Cullens, wherever they must be residing these days."

Bella stopped dead in her tracks, feeling slightly relieved. She didn't know this man but Edward and Alice certainly did, but if she was safe in New Orleans, why didn't Edward and Alice say so?

"Your companions have realized today that a handful of my siblings and I have once again taken up residence in this beautiful city and that's why they want to leave. With you."

"Why?"

"Because they're scared," he smiled widely at her. "If anything, I'm worse than the Volturi. But just because Humpty and Dumpty here want you with them, I can assure you that you are safe in my city for as long as you're here. You can send them away, if you like. I hear that they very much dislike like the sun."

She looked at him in shock and amazement before looking at Edward and Alice, who both looked like someone took away their favourite toy. She then looked back at Niklaus and slowly nodded. "I'd like to stay here and finish with our school trip."

"You're in school?" Niklaus had a hard time keeping a straight face. "I suppose virgins do belong in school..." he snorted as he looked at Edward, who looked furious. "You like them young, huh Pup? Nothing wrong with that, as do I, but your toy is not quite my type."

"Bella, you're coming back to the hostel with us," Edward demanded, but she had already made her way over to the new vampire's side, much to her boyfriend's dismay. In a last ditch effort to sway her, he called out something he was sure would unsettle her. "He's dangerous, he feeds on humans!"

Bella jumped at the information, right into the street and upcoming traffic, stumbling over her own feet and could feel herself falling. She had thought she'd hit the ground but found herself caught by surprisingly warm arms and in an instant being set back down on the sidewalk. Edward and Alice were gasping in shock while Bella was looking at Niklaus. "You use your vampire abilities in busy streets?" She was baffled. All of the Cullens made sure not to do that too much in public and yet, here was another vampire not caring about what he was doing.

"Humans are much too self-absorbed in their own dealings to really notice what's going on around them and anyone who had seen, well there are ways of handling such things. Besides, I could not let you get run over when I've just promised that you'd be safe in my city for the duration of your stay," Niklaus explained before looking into her eyes, attempting to compel her to speak the truth. "Tell me this, what do you know about New Orleans?"

"Not much," Bella confessed, a look of confusion clouding her face. "We're on a school trip here but we're not really being educated about its history while we're supposed to write a paper on it."

"And how much do you know about vampires? Only what them lot told you?"

"I did some research..." she said slowly, frustration in her eyes before it disappeared as she glanced back at her marble friends.

"Some?" he prompted.

"We have a werewolf tribe and I studied their lore after I tricked my best friend, who's one of them into telling me one of their legends and -"

"Wolves…" he mused curiously as he looked at her with more interest than before. As if it solidified some other decision he smiled at her. "Do you really want to stick around with them while in New Orleans?"

"What is this? An interrogation?" Bella quipped, causing Edward and Alice suck in a breath as she seemingly threatened the volatile man. "If you can give me what they won't, then no, they can go away," she said bravely, jutting her chin out in defiance. She knew that she was paying for this later, one way or the other, but seeing as they seemed scared of this Niklaus, she dared to feel confident. A couple of days without them would be fantastic.

"Well, that was interesting," Niklaus said as he straightened himself up and looked at the two unwelcomed visitors with a smirk on his face. "Run along now, little Cullens. It's time to educate the young lady properly on New Orleans seeing as the school system and you young vampires are failing miserably."

"Don't do this, Bella," Edward pleaded. "You don't know him and he feeds on humans."

"Yes, you told me that already," Bella said with an exasperated sigh and ran her hand through her hair. "I'll be fine. You can call me on my phone." She then looked up to the other vampire. "Just so you know, if anything happens to me, you'll have my dad to deal with. He's the police chief back home."

"Alright little lamb, I shall keep that in mind," he replied with an amused smile on his face. "Run along, Cold Ones, before I throw you out of the city myself."

Alice put her hand on Edward's arm. "Don't, he'll kill you and you know that. Let's go, she'll realize she's made a mistake soon enough."

"We can't just leave her here," he argued with his sister.

"We don't have any other option because if we try something, no matter what, it will be bloody and there'll even be death. Let's go and wait this out. She _will_ come home. I've seen it. Shh..."

Bella watched how a scowling Edward was being led away by his sister and let out a breath of relief. "Thank you," she said as she looked back at Niklaus. "They mean well."

He didn't say anything but extended his hand instead. "I'm Klaus Mikaelson."

"Bella Swan," she said blushing as she shook his hand. "Nice to meet you."

"Where are you staying, Miss Swan?"

"Ah, uhm, a hostel at Carondelet Street. Not that _they_ slept and I must be the lucky one of the class as my bed is the only one without bed bugs but…" She put her backpack on her back.

"You're going to go there and pack your bags. A Mikaelson always keeps their word. Nothing will happen to you whilst you're in my city, but you will need to be close so that I can get to you fast enough," Klaus spoke. "Return to the French Quarter when you're ready, I shall find you again and show you a place to sleep."

"But school…"

"Bring your teacher for all I care, it will be alright, Miss Swan. Hurry along now, I don't have all day."

"But what if they're there?" Bella cocked her head as she looked up to him. "I mean, you went through all this trouble and when I'm on my own…"

Klaus seemed to be thinking for a moment before he got his phone out. "As it happens, my brother is in the area taking care of some business. I'm sure he's finished by now. He might even be a better candidate of enlightening you about the world you have stumbled into than I am."

Bella let him make his phone call while she could feel her own phone vibrate in her pocket. She didn't have to look at it to know that it was one of the Cullens, trying to persuade her to come back with them, but being with Klaus - someone _they_ were afraid of for a reason still unclear to her - gave her a burst of confidence that she last experienced with Jake and his pack. This stranger - a vampire who fed on humans no less - seemed to be genuinely willing to help her to catch her breath from the Cullens.

Bella was well aware that the relationship she had with them wasn't a good one. It had been all nice and happy in the beginning, but after James, then after Victoria, they became more controlling of her, alienating her from everyone she loved and cared about. It was a good thing that Charlie was so stubborn, otherwise she would have lost him as well. She wasn't even sure why she stayed with Edward. He had left her once. He'd probably do it again in a heartbeat. No, something had changed and she wasn't sure why.

She tried to leave once, and he found her again. There was no sense in trying to run from vampires who could track you by their gifts and heightened senses. Not even when she hugged the entire Wolf pack in the reservation to mask her own scent. Essentially, it felt as if they were tracking her blood and that was creepy.

Not long after Klaus got off the phone the boy from the cafeteria earlier approached them with a big smile on his face. "I knew it," he beamed at his brother before addressing Bella. "Hello again."

"You!" Bella said in shock, staring back at him.

"Oh good, you've both met already. That makes introductions easier. Have fun," Klaus said with a smirk and left the scene.

"I'm sorry about what happened earlier," he said, allowing Bella to smack him in the chest out of frustration and worry. "But you really had to leave that cafeteria."

"There was no gas leak, was there?" she demanded.

"No."

"You had me worried about you!"

"Little old me?" the boy chuckled and shook his head. "Darling, I am perfectly capable of taking care of myself."

"And you're Klaus' brother? Are you a vampire too?"

"I was..."

"You _were_?" she questioned, confused as she eyed him.

"I'm not in a habit of repeating myself, shall we go and gather your belongings?"

While they were on their way to the hostel, Kol, as he called himself, tried to figure out how much Bella knew about vampires and witches, just to get a kick out of how wrong she was. Well, she wasn't completely wrong with the Cold Ones and all that, but to describe them as powerful vampires was just laughable, he told her. She told him that she didn't want to know more about them or the history. Just about New Orleans so she could finish her damn paper and graduate. She kept to herself that she was trying find different ways to hide from the Cullens, but Kol wasn't fooled. He called her their human pet.

"Klaus is your brother and he's a vampire, but you're not?"

"I'm human," Kol said as he helped Bella off the bus. "I used to be a vampire but my mother was a powerful witch and she dumped me in this body and now I'm human again."

"Just a yes would have sufficed," Bella said with a shudder, but couldn't help but being curious. "Witches are real?"

"Asks the girl who hangs around with vampires?"

Bella smirked. "And werewolves."

"Seriously?" Kol laughed. "Werewolves?"

"Well, technically they're shapeshifters who are descended from ancient warriors of the tribe but yeah, werewolves is an easier explanation. They grow in numbers when there are vampires around, there's this centuries old feud between the two, it's a long story."

"New Orleans has just that, you know. We have a whole supernatural community normal humans shouldn't be aware of. There are vampires, witches and werewolves. Real werewolves who can only shift during the Full Moon."

"Oh! Like Children of the Moon?"

"Not quite, although there are similarities. I'm surprised you know so much," Kol said as they rounded the corner onto Carondelet Street. "And yet think that witches are the stuff of fairytales?"

"I don't think they're the stuff of fairytales," Bella shook her head. "I just don't believe in it. The closest thing I can think of of being witches are some of the Cullens."

"Oh, you poor child," Kol sighed deeply. "Niklaus didn't tell me you were with the Cullens. Just that a handful of Cold Ones were in your way. Are you alright? Has one of them tried to marry you yet? What's his face? Edward?"

"You know them?" she asked hesitantly.

"I know _of_ them. Some of my siblings have encountered them in the last two hundred odd years, very young vampires they are. Presumptuous and manipulative. And if there's one thing that my brother Nik despises, it's the abuse of people," he explained sincerely.

"I'm not being abused," Bella said quickly as she zipped up her hoodie as she saw Edward standing in front of the hostel. Of course they were waiting for her there.

"Aren't you?"

"No," Bella said through gritted teeth. "I'm their prisoner."

"It's the same, isn't it? I want to bet that hugging them feels as if you're locked in a freezer."

"Shut up, they can hear you," Bella whispered as she stuffed her hands in her pockets and continued to walk towards the hostel. She cursed herself that her confidence had gone back into hiding upon seeing Edward and that she felt awkward with Kol next to her. What could he do to protect her anyway?

"I'm not afraid of them, love, and neither should you," Kol replied as he straightened himself up. "Here is what's going to happen, doll. We're going to walk in there without acknowledging them and you are going to gather your things."

"What about the teacher?"

"Let me worry about that," Kol smiled at her as they passed Edward, who looked like a marble statue more than ever, and entered the building. "Wow, the whole family is here."

"No, the parents are home," Bella said, glancing at Rosalie who shot glares at her as they passed upstairs to the room she shared with them. Even on their senior trip, they had made sure that they had Bella all to themselves. Falling asleep with them around was uncomfortable, seeing as they didn't sleep. But after a so long she was sort of growing accustomed to it now.

Kol kept watch while she quickly packed, and a million questions flooded her mind - screw the history of New Orleans, what was all the talk about witches? How different was Klaus from Edward? He certainly was warmer and did seem to have a healthy, natural colour on his face. And was Kol more than 'just human'? Because she knew the Cullens and they would have snapped his neck if they were able to. "Has Klaus ever tried to be a vegetarian?" Okay, maybe that was a dumb question, but she was curious.

Kol let out a hearty laugh. "There's no such thing as vegetarian vampires, Sweetcheeks," he eventually said. "Human vegetarians swear off all kinds of meat, yeah? Vampires thrive off of blood. Human blood is the best and tastiest, some eat only animals - which is a wee bit pathetic if you ask me because it makes them weaker, but there's no such thing as going vegetarian and swear off blood."

"I don't understand," she said confused as she closed her travel case.

"Well, say you're going to swear off eating horsemeat because horses are cute and beautiful, but you continue to eat anything else like chicken and cows. Does that make you a vegetarian?"

Bella was baffled - of course not! She knew that the Cullens only fed on animals, even Jasper with his bloodlust, but she had always accepted it as them being vegetarian while it was nothing more than a change of diet because they loved humans so much.

Kol looked up when _she_ walked in. Of course, he hadn't seen her as they walked in and hadn't been able to spell her so that Bella had safe passage and it was hard for him to keep up his concentration when he saw her. "Mary Alice Claire, it's been a long time."

"Sorry?" Alice blinked at him and then looked at Bella. "Why are you packing? You can come home with us."

"She's not going anywhere, Miss Claire."

"Who are you?" Alice demanded as she crossed her arms over her chest and looked up to Kol. "I'm Alice Cullen, who are you?"

"No dear," Kol grinned as he made his way over to Alice. "You may be a Cullen now, but you're a Claire witch. Or you used to be anyway. What's it like to be back in your old stomping grounds?"

"Bella, get out," Alice told her as she looked around Kol. "I'll deal with him."

"Miss Swan can stay if she likes, I mean, it's not every day that someone she knows gets caught out in a lie, is it?" Kol said playfully and casually waved his hand to freeze the vampire in place. "I know what it feels like, Love," he continued. "No longer being able to practice magic because you've been turned. Must be harder for you seeing as the grounds of your magic is right here…So close!"

"Again, who are you?"

"Oh, this is fun!" Kol grinned as he continued to walk around the little vampire, taunting her. "Why can't you use your gift on me, I wonder?"

"It's her," Alice answered after some hesitation, nodding to Bella. "She's extended her shield to you, somehow."

"My what?" Bella stammered, watching the two with caution.

"Interesting," Kol said appreciatively. "Well then. My identity shall remain hidden from you for now, little vampire," he said to Alice before looking at Bella. "Seems like Miss Swan has finished packing. Please don't follow us and go home. Niklaus Mikaelson is a man of his word and will assure her safety."

Bella snorted when she felt the familiar feeling of 'mommy vs daddy' thing happening right now, something she used to feel like when her parents would share custody over her when she was little.

"Bella, I'm still not comfortable with you being here on your own. What would Charlie say? Or Mrs. Beauchamp?"

"Is that the teacher?" Kol asked Bella who nodded in response. "Let's find her and sort this out."

After dealing with Mrs. Beauchamp, which went far easier than Bella thought it would, they made their way back to the French Quarter in semi-silence. Bella had so many more questions she wanted to ask Kol, as he obviously knew more than he let on. Especially what happened with Alice, but she figured that he'd offer the information himself if he felt the need for it. She didn't want to be the nosy girl. On the other hand, she had felt as if a door had opened wide for her and she wanted to get all the information _now._ "What did you mean by _has anyone tried to marry you yet_?"

"I am not sure I'm the one to tell, love," Kol said, inhaling sharply. "I did not have anything to do with them personally, but my brothers have. I only know what they decided to share with me."

"Somehow I suspect that your brother isn't as talkative as you are with things concerning the past."

Kol snorted and then nodded. "Very well," he replied. "From what I heard is that _Daddy Dearest,_ Carlisle Cullen is somewhat of a collector of gifted people to turn. It's almost as if he has a nose for it, that he can smell it in people's blood."

"That would explain Edward, Alice and Jasper. Emmett, maybe. He's super strong. But he didn't turn Jasper..."

"Just because they're technically dead, it doesn't mean that they don't get lonely and seek for a mate. And I don't know this Jasper so I can't speak to his joining them."

"Esme."

"I know that Edward was his first. Maybe he wanted to find a mate for himself as well."

"Rosalie."

"See? It explains it all." Kol said with a big smile on his face. "I didn't tell you anything new there, did I?"

"Yes, but if he's some sort of a collector, it still doesn't explain Esme or Rosalie."

"Esme is a beautiful, caring, maternal woman. Rosalie is drop dead gorgeous with a bite. But you're right. Maybe he wanted to surround his family with ordinary vampires to make them feel extra special." He smirked at her as he put his arm around her while they were still sitting in the bus. "Aren't you going to ask me about Alice?"

"I'm still trying to wrap my head around the fact that you know Alice."

"Why? It's possible, I used to be a vampire."

"Yes, and how is that possible that you're cured now?"

"This is not my original face. My mother... well. She's a straight up bitch but she wanted us to stop being monsters and tried to put all of us in different bodies," he said with a shrug. "She only managed me and my brother Finn, and if I have to be honest, I like this. Not that I'm wearing a different person but that I'm human again."

"Why?" Bella asked as she looked at him. "Isn't being immortal a great thing?"

"I had to give up witchcraft when my mother turned us into vampires to survive the werewolves, because you can't be a vampire and a witch at the same time. Some of Carlisle's gifted vampires or any of the gifted Cold Ones for that matter, must have some Witchy ancestor. What does Alice do?"

"She sees the future and different outcomes of that future."

"Ah, the power of precognition. No doubt a remnant of the Dark Magic she used to perform, not that it's harmful, but it's a form of personal gain, isn't it? It goes against nature."

"How do you know?"

"I may have taught her some Dark Magic when we met..." Kol smiled knowingly. "You see, I was a vampire and no longer a witch but I had discovered that I could still teach witchcraft. I discovered a different kind of Dark Magic that could help me when I was in Arabia. I taught Mary-Alice that."

"Are you sure it's _your_ Mary-Alice?"

"I never forget a face, darling," Kol smiled at her. "That's her alright. Perfectly preserved. Except for the whole hair issue. I should know. I was there when she got sired."


	2. Shine A Light

Bella was stunned by what more Kol had to say about Alice, it all fit perfectly, apart from her darkened hair, but even for that he had a perfect explanation; she had dipped a little bit too far into the dark magic cauldron that her hair was permanently changed by her transition.

It wasn't strange for her to hear that other people knew of the Cullens as a family. They were one of the largest coven of Cold Ones, which was one of the primary reasons for the Volturi to keep a close eye on them, but was also why they wanted her either dead or changed just so she wouldn't reveal their secrets. Judging from Kol's short stories on their way back to the French Quarter, she could tell that things could have gone differently.

Cold Ones were taught to fear and obey the Volturi, as they were 'mighty,' 'vicious' and placed themselves at the top of the food chain, but Kol half jokingly said that that was just because they were scared little imps with money.

These vampires, Klaus at least she observed, and others seemingly lived freely without any government over them and abided by their own rules. Even walked among humans in the daylight. The biggest difference she learned was that they didn't sparkle in the sunlight and literally weren't able to walk in the sun without combusting as they required protective, spelled jewelry.

Klaus, and his still vampiric siblings, were the known as the Originals, created by magic and were truly immortal, while the humans they sired were not. The origins of the Cold Ones were still a mystery, but once Bella and Kol were in a coffee shop before going to Klaus' home, Kol explained what he knew, that they pre-dated the Originals but that it didn't mean they were stronger. The Cold Ones were fragile vampires, their skin wasn't human skin but more like porcelain and easily broken with force.

Bella found Kol as amusing as he was charming. He was completely different from what she was used to. He was funny and spoke directly. It was as if he didn't have a filter and that was so refreshing, so uncomplicated. Kol reminded her of Jacob, however, in recent years, Jake had kept more things from her than he should have. Maybe if he had been more open with her and more willing to fight for her, she'd have ended up with him. But she wasn't entirely sure if Edward and his family would have let the entire wolf pack live for that.

"You keep telling me about how awesome your brother is with his vampirism, but what about you? Are you just a human?" Bella smiled at him as she sipped her coffee.

"You haven't been paying attention, have you?" Kol shook his head. "I'm a witch. My mother was gracious enough to put me into the body of someone who dabbled in magic already, and I'm loving this new body. It's very handsome and fetching, don't you think?"

"Did the accent come with it?" Bella grinned.

"Partially," he said with a nod, a bit of a smirk ghosting his lips. "Some things just don't leave after a thousand years. Why? Is it a turn on?"

Bella could feel how her face started to get warm and she was certain that her skin had coloured beet-red by now. She silently cursed herself for agreeing with what he had said about himself, but she had a boyfriend for god's sake. This wasn't a good position for her to be in. If Edward would find out that she might be attracted someone else, especially a guy who complimented himself and assisted in a very complicated situation - and quite right too - hell was to be paid.

"I can't believe I'm saying this, but enough about me," Kol said with a surprised expression on his face. "I think you're holding out on me, Miss Swan."

"Sorry?"

"You're a witch too, aren't you?"

"I'm not?" She stammered, unsure of what he was talking about. What was he going on about? "Sinceriously, I'm nothing special. I was born in Forks, Washington, moved to Arizona with my mom when she and dad divorced and then moved back for some stability because my mom can be a bit flakey. My dad is a police chief and I'm an average student prone to falling over without reason."

He tilted his head as he peered at her, leaning against his arm. He didn't say anything for a few moments but it was clear that there was something on the tip of his tongue. "You're cute. You know that? Mary Alice pointed out that your shield expanded, remember? Don't answer that, of course you do. Obviously you've been able to thwart other gifts of their kind before you came here but you've never been able to block hers as her precognition is derived from her dark magic days. You following me Poppet?"

"I thought it was nice that Edward couldn't read my mind," Bella admitted slowly, almost as if she had to think about the words. "But I didn't think anything of it, to be honest." Did he just say that she was cute? Was that a throwaway comment or what? "I'm not cute."

Kol continued on, a spark of excitement in his eyes as he stared at her. "You being here, for whatever reason, made your shield or whatever ability you have grow. Become stronger. Or you simply are something _else_. The only thing possible that could block a witch would be…" he trailed off waiting for her to catch on, knowing that she was a clever girl. And hoped she was indeed what he suspected her to be.

"I haven't blocked a witch," Bella grumbled, suddenly uncomfortable under his attention. "I blocked a Cold One."

"Who was quite the powerful witch in her time and had clearly retained one of her abilities during her transition," he pointed out to her. "And I beg to differ on your opinion. However, that is an argument for another time. My brother should be arriving soon. He just might end up compelling some self confidence into you instead of you earning it yourself. Bloody wanker."

Bella snorted. "Was that what he was trying to do when he tried to interrogate me about my true feelings about the Cullens? It didn't work."

Kol frowned slightly, but it was more in a combination of concerned anticipation. "Possibly. I wasn't there to see but if it failed, then it would be one of two things. That shield of yours, which I doubt against his type of being. My money would honestly be on you being a witch, Dollface."

"You know, you have a great imagination. You should write a book," she quipped before gathering her bag. "Maybe it wasn't a good idea to leave the Cullens for a few days after all."

"Hey now. You decided to take a risk with us. Now give us the chance to prove ourselves to you," he protested as he held his hands up in defense. "Maybe there is a way to prove some of what I said? What say you?"

Bella stared at him for a long minute, debating her options. It wasn't like she had many of them. Letting out a huff, she shook her head and turned away and closed her eyes to tried to temper her emotions. "Fine," she said as she put her bag back down and looked at him. "But other than that, I'm not interested in talking about me because there's nothing to talk about."

Kol rolled his eyes at her objection but nodded in acceptance. "Fine. You win - this time," he smiled up at her through his eyelashes as he sent a few text messages out to his brother and his witch friend to set up their meeting and find out what was going on with their friend's new living arrangements.

"So, if it takes longer for Klaus to arrive, how about some food? I'm starving."

"What you in the mood for Love? This is New Orleans. We got jambalaya, gumbo, creole anything…"

"Anything greasy," she said with a nod. "I'm tired of salads, rice, and burnt chicken."

His lip rolled back as he made a face. "Those bloody nits controlling what the hell you decide to eat as well?"

Bella shrugged. "They don't eat themselves and even though they genuinely try to make me something by watching the cooking channel..."

"No Love. Trust me. That poor excuse for a _family_ know what the hell they are doing. They are trying to control you and have you submit to them. What for? I really want to know. When I tell Niklaus…" Kol trailed off as he looked around for something. "Come on Poppet! There's a great little deli around the corner from here that has the best po-boys this side of the bayou. You eat meat, right? After all that babble of vegetarian talk, I bloody hope you eat meat…" he said as he eyed her with something more than hunger.

"Are you kidding me?" She smiled widely. "I could kill for a steak," she moaned.

"'Nuff said then, yeah? Let's get you that steak," he grinned, suggestively wagging his eyebrows.

Bella's phone vibrated in her pocket and she sighed as she got it out. She knew she had several missed calls already, but now she started to receive texts from Alice.

"Gimme it Doll," he said as he held out his hand.

"I could just switch it off," Bella said with half a shrug. "But Charlie might call me."

"She'll just keep on harassing you. You _don't _deserve that treatment. We'll get you another way for your daddy to get you when we see Nik but you wanted your freedom from them. The only way you'll get it is if you take it yourself. They will just keep trying to suck you in until you have nothing left and are completely dependent on them," he explained gently. "I can help you if want. But only if you let me."

"I'm not sure if I'm ready for that," Bella said after a moment of considering Kol's words. She turned the phone off completely and put it in her bag. She wanted her freedom for a couple of days, yes. Klaus, and now Kol, were willing to give that to her. Which was nice, but she'd have to go back home eventually and she didn't want to get into more trouble than she was already in. Eating a steak, eating something that hadn't been approved in general, was going to be the first of many rules she was probably going to break, but she was going to do it anyway.

"Fair enough," Kol said with a slow nod and helped her up before heading out to the best steaks in New Orleans. "You up for a po-boy too?"

"I have no idea what they are so yes. Definitely." Bella grinned.

"Good. Perhaps you're up for some mischief once we got you settled afterwards?" He asked with a glint of excitement in his eyes. "Paint the town?" When he saw the look of agony on her face, he grinned. "Fine, I'll take you to something historical."

Kol hadn't been lying; she had eaten the best steak she'd ever had and was just in the middle of her sandwich when Klaus showed up with a young brunette in tow that was just barely her age. "That's Davina, she's Marcel's chuckaboo."

Bella raised her eyebrow at that. Who was Marcel and what was a chuckaboo?

"Friend. Mate. Go to witch. Little sister…" Kol said with a shrug and smiled at his brother. "Niklaus! You won't believe the adventure we have had."

"I can still see the steak sauce dripping off your chin, Kol," Klaus keenly observed, a touch of aggravation in his voice. "I take it that all went well then?"

"It was hard to keep a straight face when I saw them wearing gas-pipes," Kol snickered. "I mean, no offence, gas-pipes are awesome, but their junk just doesn't work anymore so why show it off?"

Klaus sighed as he rubbed his eyes. "Miss Swan, apologies for my brother's behaviour, I-"

"There's no need," Bella interrupted him with a smile. "I think he's great."

"You hear that, Nik?" Kol smirked. "I'm great!"

"I brought Davina. Why did I bring her for this girl?" The older vampire questioned, ignoring his brother for the time being. "No offense, Miss Swan, I think that you are something special for being able to resist my compulsion but…"

"She has a shield," Kol interrupted, growing serious for the moment. "And it expanded onto me when we were getting her belongings." He then pointed over to his friend with a smile, who seemed to be staring at Bella with big eyes, as if she was in shock. "Earth to Davina."

"Right, sorry," Davina said, shaking her head before making her way over to Bella to shake her hand. "You're a Higginbotham. Aren't you?"

"My mother is a Higginbotham," Bella answered, mildly confused and surprised at the same time. "How did you know?"

Davina looked up to Klaus, glancing around hesitantly. "We can't talk here, we need to go somewhere private. The cemetery would be best. I'm not saying anything else about this until we get there."

By the time the group reached the mausoleum, Bella tried not think that it wasn't eerie at all to be at a cemetery with a pair of supposed witches and a vampire. Nope, not at all. She had her arm looped through Kol's as if to trying to stop herself from running. Cemeteries were filled with dead people, that was all. Renée would severely disapprove - she was sure.

"Don't be scared, Love," Kol said as he gently caressed her arm. "Nothing but good spirits in these grounds. This is sacred land and a source of power for many witches of New Orleans. It's quite a young cemetery too. Only been in use since 1833." He then smirked. "That's some information for your history bit."

"Oh, gee, thanks," Bella rolled her eyes at him. "I need more than just a date, you know."

"I promise you that when you do leave, you'll have a ten page essay on New Orleans that will guarantee you getting a high mark in school," Klaus said before looking at Davina. "We're here. Now what?"

"How much do you two know about my family?" Davina asked the brothers as she leaned against one of the tombs with her arms crossed over her chest. "I mean, the witches here in New Orleans use ancestral magic. I died because of the Harvest… but what else do you know?"

"Oh shit," Kol said as he rubbed the back of his head. "You know?"

"Oh yes, Kol, you had some fun with my grandmother. That's not news either."

"Just spill the beans, Davina, I don't have all night," Klaus said impatiently, disregarding his brother who wanted to say something. "And it's not polite to keep our guest in the dark either if what you want to say pertains to her that you dragged us all the way out to your ancestors' graves."

"Alright…" the young witch sighed. "Our magic is passed through our female line. If the women of our family produce a boy, it's likely he's not magical at all, or not worthy of being a witch. Yes, this sounds… stupid and ignorant and unfair and all that, but the women in our family are more powerful. In fact, the New Orleans Coven hasn't known many male witches. At all."

"Kaleb was a witch," Kol spoke up.

"Yes, but he's from out of town, a different line. Different kind of magic, even though ancestral magic is still the strongest in New Orleans. Which is why you need my help with bigger spells," Davina pointed out. "Even though you're over a thousand years old."

"Sorry, what has this to do with my mother?" Bella piped up. While she was intrigued to hear about Davina's family history, but what was the point?

"It was highly unlikely that women of the coven bear boys. Simply because of the magic. But a few generations ago, a set of twins were born. A girl and a boy. Now, they grew up together within the coven and it was clear that the boy was magically just as strong as the girl, if not stronger. The exact details of this event have faded over the years, but I know that the boy was sent away to England out of France and adopted by a British family with the instruction to keep him safe from the dangers of the world, to keep moving as not to be found out that he was a Claire witch. This to safeguard the Claire lineage incase we'd die out or produce barren children. The Claire family were amongst the first settlers in the New World and we made our home here in New Orleans. Since the happening of the twin birth, only women have been produced."

"The point, Davina?" Klaus sighed as he sat down on one of the grave borders.

"The boy's last name was changed to Higginbotham. According to one of the most powerful witches blessed with the sight of the future, his line would only produce boys and his magical ability would fade over time. _But _there would come a time where a girl was going to be born and the girl was going to be a vault of magic, all the unused magic all bottled up inside of her until she, or her offspring, would produce a girl of their own."

The Mikaelsons quickly caught onto what she was saying and looked at one another, wide eyed as they struggled to process what they were hearing. The only one to be able to formulate any words was the subject herself. "You're saying…"

"I am," Davina smiled at her. "You're a witch, capable of great things. Even bigger here in New Orleans where most of my - _our _\- family is buried," she continued. "I could sense it immediately, though I'm surprised Kol hasn't picked up on it."

"Who says I haven't?" He eyed Davina as Bella gripped his arm tightly to hold him back. "She has this shielding ability that expanded onto me earlier, stopping a certain ex-witch from peeking into my head."

"Seriously?" Davina smiled widely. "That is so cool!"

"It would also explain why the Cold Ones want you so bad, Poppet," Kol said as he turned to Bella concerned, trying to stop her fingers from digging into him. "Mary-Alice obviously recognized the same in you as Davina just did."

Klaus's eyes quickly snapped to Kol. "_Mary-Alice_?"

"Long story, not for the small ears to hear about." Kol smirked as he pulled a lighter out of his pocket and handed it to Bella, who was still holding on to him. "You don't believe any of this, do you?"

"No," Bella shook her head stubbornly. What she knew of her mother's side of her family did line up with what the girl told her but she still was having trouble accepting it. "It's just a coincidence that my mother has the same name as Davina's family."

"Put your hand flat, like this," he said as he held up his hand. "The one with the lighter, you can keep hold of me."

Bella did as he told her to, feeling stupid. "Now, repeat after me, and keep repeating until you see something happening and don't panic, the flames won't hurt you," he said as he encouragingly smiled at her. "_E Loke Gae La lidi."_

Bella watched with fascination as while both she and Kol were saying the words, the silver lighter seemed to be going up in flames - that funny enough didn't hurt, much - and slowly changed into a gold color.

Kol stopped chanting and smiled widely at Bella. "You did that. Now tell me, are you a witch?"

"I don't know. I guess I am?" She whispered, still clearly unsure.

"Looks like you have a good subject to begin with for your paper now Love," Klaus smiled over at her.

Davina wanted to continue all evening, wanting to test Bella and whatnot, but Kol interrupted her from spewing more words. "We do not want to overwhelm Miss Swan," he said as he protectively put his arm around her shoulders. "Me thinks she should get some rest in. She's had a busy day."

Klaus curiously looked at his brother. Kol was looking out for someone else other than himself, was something out of ordinary for him and had him watching suspiciously. "I've had them clear a room on the first floor at my place," he eventually said. "I wanted to put her up at the Plantation but that, of course, isn't possible and Elijah convinced me that if I want to keep my promise of keeping her safe for the duration of her stay, I needed to keep her close."

"What about me?"

"What about you, Kol? You have your own place to go."

"Can't I stay?"

Davina snickered as she walked away from the brothers and Bella.

"No offense, brother," Kol said as he shook his head. "The company that you keep might not be so willing to honor your promises or might not have the same restraint as you, Elijah or our darling sister or even Marcel." He then cocked his head with a smile on his face as he looked at him. "Besides, I think that a family meeting is long overdue."

The hybrid pursed his lips as he glared at the boy trapped in the human body. He hated that he was right and breathed out his fury through his nose as it was clear that he was in agreement. "Don't make me regret this," Klaus told his brother as he started to walk towards the exit of the mausoleum.

Kol grinned at Bella. "See? Underneath all that gruff, he loves me."

"You really didn't have to do that, you know," Bella said as they started to follow Klaus.

"I am not leaving you on your own in that place where you have the chance to become a late night snack for a hungry vampire that he likes to keep around his paranoid self."

"I'm living in a house with six Cold Ones and I didn't get snacked upon," Bella pointed out. "I'm sure it'll be fine."

"Those Cold Ones have a hidden agenda, love," Kol countered. "They know you're special and they don't want anything to happen to you."

"Doesn't that go for you as well then?" She looked up to him with a smile on her face. "You don't want any harm come to me because I have this shield thing?"

"No, I don't want any harm come to you because you've been hurt enough, which is also Niklaus' reasoning. He stepped in for ya before he knew about all this, remember Pet? Just because you have something extra makes it a lot more interesting now. What you want to do with it is your own. We're not going to tell you what to do with the knowledge you have acquired in the last half hour."

"But…" Bella said as she kept looking at him. "It would be preferable if I'd do something with it?"

"Only if you want to, darling," he smiled at her. "Only if you want to. Nik promised you a safe couple of days here in New Orleans, what you choose to do with it is all up to you."

Bella thought for a moment. "So, if I want to find out about how New Orleans came to be tomorrow, you'll be okay with that?"

"Sure. We could visit all the museums if you'd like. Then, afterwards, you can ask questions to people who actually were there when this was still a colony."

"How is that possible?" She stammered and then mentally wanted to hit herself. "Never mind. Of course. You and your brother."

"And our other brother Elijah. He sincerely likes to teach people things. He's also quite insufferable sometimes seeing as he thinks he's the wisest and most educated of us all. To be fair, he might give you the most accurate account of the past than me or Niklaus."

"And why is that?"

"Nik is a pompous ass and I was sidelined for a period of time." Kol smirked as he once again put his arm around her and continued to walk down the street towards the Abbatoir.


	3. Caged Bird

Bella had to admit, the first step she set in "the compound", she was amazed by the size of it. It looked like an apartment building or a building with a community garden, although the garden was more of a big patio. It was spacious and impressive. There was a set of stairs that lead to the first floor and you could walk around the corridor to get a good view of the patio below..

The room that Klaus had arranged for her was as big as her home in Forks that she shared with Charlie and it was filled with antiques. It was essentially as if she had stepped into a movie, a period drama, it was all so gorgeous and ancient. She was afraid that the bed would collapse if she slept on it, but it didn't. It was big and sturdy and the mattress was just right. She didn't have a lot of time to look around from her place on the bed because as soon as her head hit the pillow, she'd been out like a light.

She woke the next morning because someone knocked on the door and she was embarrassed about the fact that she hadn't even bothered to change into her pyjamas before going to bed. It would be a miracle if she didn't suffer from the worst bed hair ever and managed to find a hair tie in her pocket on the way to the door.

"Good Morning, dollface," Kol greeted her with a wide smile on his face while he held up a tray with food. "Slept well? I've taken the liberty to get you some breakfast. Fried eggs with bacon, a yummy ham sandwich, some tea, orange juice and best of all... Beignets."

"A dessert for breakfast?" Bella sleepily smiled. "Thank you. It's a brilliant way to start the day." she stepped aside to let him in. "Can you give me a few minutes so I can freshen myself up?"

"Why? You look alright to me."

"That's very kind of you," Bella snorted as she turned around to fetch some things from her bag. "But I've slept the best I have in ages in my own clothes and I feel a bit grimy. I won't be long." She continued as she walked into the bathroom and didn't fully close the door. Kol counted the minutes and exactly five minutes after she'd gotten in, she exited the bathroom, looking refreshed in a change of clothes and a big smile on her face.

"That was quick."

"Was it?" Bella smiled at him and giggled when he pulled out a chair for her to sit on at the table in the room for breakfast.

"I'd have thought you'd take a nice, long and relaxing bath in that gorgeous bathtub in that bathroom. Isn't that what girls do?" He sat down in a chair next to her and relaxed as he watched her eye the food on the tray. "I'm not going to put stuff on your plate, darling, you're not a child."

Bella went for the ham sandwich and took a bite.

"I'm curious," he eventually said after she had slowly eaten half of her sandwich. "Why didn't you close and lock the door just now? I'm a complete stranger, I'm a guy, in your room and you just leave the door open. If I didn't have any honor, I could have done something to you."

"I pretty much always leave the door open," Bella said as she carefully placed the sandwich on her plate and took a sip of her orange juice. "I'm sorry if it offended you."

"It didn't offend me, love," Kol smiled at her. "But haven't you heard of 'stranger, danger'? You need to rely on yourself to make decisions for yourself. Take advantage of the next few days where you don't have to listen to the rules _they_ have set for you. Take your life back, even if you decide to go back to them."

"But I have to go back to him," Bella said kind of confused. "I have to finish school and then there's the matter of the Volturi… even if Edward and I no longer- they'd still come because I know of them."

"You always have a choice," Kol wanted to point to her half eaten sandwich to prompt her to continue eating, but he figured that the Cullens were in control over her food too and he didn't want to do the same. She'd get hungry eventually. "Take it from me, life is full of choices with endless outcomes. But for every problem, there is a solution. I can't begin the many times I've been at odds with Nik. Mostly Nik, actually. I've made some bad decisions in the past, but I was usually able to fix them."

She listened to his words and thought about what he had said. If she'd leave the Cullens, they wouldn't stop following her, trying to get her back or even worse; they'd kill her and she didn't want to do that to Charlie. She didn't have a choice. None. "And sometimes it's best to just let it happen for the safety of others."

"Then why do you want a break from them, ey? My brother has opened his house to you, he's ensured your safety because he knows what they're like."

"Yeah, you're right, it was a bad and impulsive decision on my part."

Kol grabbed her hand when she wanted to get up from her chair and pulled her back in. Maybe it was a little too much to confront her over breakfast about this, but she started it. "Was it? Or is your subconscious trying to tell you something?"

Bella looked at Kol's hand and then looked at him. "Let me go."

"No. Not until you answer me."

"Let me go. Please." Bella pleaded.

"Make me," he snapped rather arrogantly.

"No." She started to jerk her arm trying to get his hand off of hers, but he wasn't letting go.

"I'm not immortal or anything. Make me." He tightened the hold he had on her hand. "What are you? Weak? Maybe I should find that marble prince of yours and tell him he needs to marry you soon so he has more reason to bully you around. Although you're honestly _pathetic_ right now, but that's how he likes them, isn't it? Weak and pathetic. Easier to manipulate."

"Stop," Bella said with tears in her eyes as she looked at him. "You're being an ass."

Kol snorted. "You're not telling me anything new, love, my siblings tell me that on a daily basis. Since I'm not immortal anymore, Nik can't even shut me up without killing me." Not letting go of her hand, he got up from his chair as he turned hers around with his foot and grabbed her other hand, pinning both hands to the chair. "I'm not letting go of you, you'd have to make me."

He was dangerously close to her now and she squeezed her eyes shut. She didn't want to see this. Whatever had gotten into him was scary and he really wasn't letting go of her no matter how much she struggled. "Please, stop…" she said with a whisper.

"I can see now why Edward wants you so much, you're nothing but a doormat. You're nothing without him, aren't you? You need a man to tell you what to do, don't you?"

"Stop!" Bella cried out as she felt a force coming from within her, almost as if she released all of her pent up frustration and anxiety and found Kol's hands away from hers. When she opened her eyes as to take a peek if he was still there, she found him on the other side of the room, grinning like a maniac.

"Ow, that hurt," he grinned as he got to his feet, brushing off the debris of the dresser she'd seemingly thrown him into. "Remind me not to piss you off for real."

She just stared at him in shock.

"I didn't mean it, I promise," he said as he walked back to her.

"What happened?"

"You magically threw me against the dresser, that's what happened."

"I'm so sorry! I- Are you okay? I'm so sorry, I didn't-"

Kol snorted and gently placed his hand on her shoulder before he sat back down next to her. "I'm alright and you don't have to apologise. It's my own fault, really. I pushed you."

"You were mean."

"Yes, but you've learned three lessons now," he said with a grin on his face before he held out his hand to use his powers to get a beignet.

"How did you do that?" Bella stared at him with big eyes.

"The opposite of what you just did to me. You wanted me away from you so you pushed me away. I want the good tasting beignet, so I have it come to me. But what three lessons have you learned?" He took a bite of the pastry as he looked at her. Maybe seeing him eat would make her think to finish the sandwich she had nibbled on earlier.

She blankly stared at him as she rubbed her hands. She could still feel his hands on hers and it was annoying. Edward or Jasper always put their hands on her to calm her down or make her do things and Kol wasn't either of them. He was sweet and only trying to prove his point.

"One; you sure have a lot of thinking to do about your future with that beastly marble Ken-doll," he said slowly. "As I said, every problem has a solution, no matter how bad. Which brings us to two; you're stronger than you think." He nodded towards the smashed dresser. "Your magic might not work outside of New Orleans, but I can tell you have a strong will working for ye… and three…"

"You're an ass?" She quipped, a smile appearing on her face.

"Yes," he agreed with a playful smile on his face. "But at least I'm honest about it unlike some people. But what I meant is that it's alright to stand up for yourself and if needed, do bodily harm to protect yourself. Surely, with a copper as a dad he taught you some sweet moves."

"Of course, but with Ed-"

Kol shushed her. "No excuses, love, he might be stronger than you and harder to hurt, but you have every right to kick his arse if need be. It's time to look out for number one." He took another bite off his beignet and was relieved when she once again picked up her sandwich. "So, museum today?"

Bella nodded as she continued to eat. "As many as possible." She was glad Kol had dropped the subject, she still wasn't happy what he had done, although she had to admit, unknowingly flinging him across the room had been really cool. She could understand why someone, an outsider, would think the way they did about the whole situation, but it was simply impossible to be completely out of the Cullen's grasp.

She already feared the worst upon her return. They might do something irreversible to people she loved and there was nothing she could do about it other than to accept it. And that sucked. She could do as Kol said; kick Edward or whomever, but could he promise they wouldn't retaliate by breaking her neck?

Kol smiled widely. "Well, hurry up then, we have a lot to do in not enough time. First order of business though, is to get you a phone of your own."

Bella looked at Kol as she finished her sandwich and her glass of orange juice. The main reason why she didn't want to have her own phone was that she was currently not carrying enough money to buy one. She had been given fifty dollars to spend on her own while in New Orleans and Edward would decide to pay for things she'd otherwise need. "My phone still works, you know."

"Are you certain?" Kol smiled wickedly. "I had some time to kill when you were in the bathroom."

"You didn't!" Bella said panicked. "Do you have any idea what you've done?!" She flew off her chair and headed to her backpack to get her phone out and felt the color drain from her face as she tried to switch it on but it didn't work. "No…" she whispered as she opened it up and a substance that looked like sand fell out of her phone. Upon closer inspection, she noticed it was the battery.

Maybe breaking her battery hadn't been one of his brightest ideas, although he was certain that it had been for the best. Porcelain could have put stuff on her phone - apps - to track her every move, even if it was turned off and he wanted Bella to be free.

Kol could see how her heart shattered and how close she was to a panic attack and it was his bloody fault. He didn't know what to say when Bella started to unravel in front of him. She was clutching her phone and rocking herself back and forth. Kol felt no better than Edward right now. Elijah had stressed the importance of leaving her be and not to take things away from her or make her do things against her will because that's what she usually gets at home and he had crossed a line. Big time.

When his sister Rebekah angrily barged into the room, Kol didn't know how fast he had to get up and get to the other side of the room, as far away as possible. "I'm sorry, I didn't think it would matter that much…"

"That's it, isn't it?" the woman bit at him as she sat down next to Bella and calmly took her hands into her own. "You do not think! You might get off easily if the chip in this bloody device still works!" She then looked at Bella, making sure that she was looking at her. "Take a deep breath, it's going to be alright, little dove. My brother is getting you a replacement phone even if it has to be his own."

It took a while before she calmed down, there was this unknown woman sitting next to her, holding her hands and nothing else. "I am so sorry," she whispered before looking around the room. Kol was gone. "I… it's just…"

"I understand," the blonde said kindly. "You don't have to apologize. How about you and Kol forgo on your trip to the museums and how about you and I go do something fun such as doing something ridiculously girly and go to a spa and relax."

"I can't… I…"

"Niklaus' treat. Just to get your mind off of things," she interrupted her and let go of her hands to caress a wayward strand of hair behind her ear. "My name is Rebekah, I'm them lot's sister and I apologize for Kol's behaviour."

Bella slowly nodded as she looked at her. The woman - Rebekah - was absolutely beautiful and reminded her of Rosalie, if only just slightly. She appeared to be a lot kinder, though, which was a startling contrast to what she was familiar with. "But if I don't have my paper done by the time I leave, I will fail the class."

"History of New Orleans, yeah?" Rebekah smiled widely. "We've got you covered, I promise. Museums are nice and all that and..." From the corner of her eye she noticed the dresser that lay in shambles. It had been one of Elijah's favourite items back in the day and it was beyond repair. "What happened here?"

"Kol." Bella replied with a small smile on her lips. "Apparently I am capable of doing magic and pushed him in there."

"That is - truly splendid," Rebekah said appreciatively. "Well done, you!"

Bella wasn't one to do extremely girly things as going to a spa. Even when she was little she simply liked to sit down with a good book and read to relax instead of playing outside with friends from school.

Tripping over her own feet on occasion was also one of the reasons; it wasn't funny to faceplant into the pavement or a pile of dog poo. It grew old very fast. But she had to admit, Rebekah made whole spa experience fun by telling her stories about days past. If only she had been allowed to write it all down while getting a massage!

They went for ice cream on their way back and Bella could have sworn she saw Emmett and Rosalie standing in the distance, keeping an eye on her, which reminded her of her phone. "Oh shit, the phone!"

"Don't fret, I'm sure that when we return, Kol will be apologetic up to the point of grovelling and he will attained a new phone for you," Rebekah said calmly and gently rubbed Bella's back. "You do know us girls don't need men to take care of us, right? Nor to tell us what we can't and can do."

Bella sighed as she rubbed the back of her neck and looked to the ground as they walked back. "I know. I know all of that. It's…"

"Complicated?"

Bella nodded.

"Kol mentioned you feel like their prisoner. Why aren't you trying a prison break?"

"It's comp-"

"Complicated," Rebekah said with a nod and sighed. "Do you even still love that Edward guy? I mean, surely you must, if you allow yourself to be treated the way he and his family are treating you."

Bella sighed again. No matter how she wanted to drop the subject, Rebekah didn't seem to want anything of it. Maybe it was a good thing to talk about it, it wasn't as if she could tell someone back home. New Orleans was a long way from Forks and there was a great possibility that her new friends weren't ever going to visit her or for her to go back to New Orleans. "I'm not a victim," Bella eventually said, thinking it over. "I know very well that what they're doing is wrong. Sure, I loved Edward. I mean, he's handsome, he's this old soul and his hands… oh god, I couldn't wait for him to touch me with those hands and fingers," she smirked at the thought. "He took care of me, I liked that too. I mean, he made sure I didn't get hit by a car in the school parking lot and he saved me from a group of boys when I was out with my friends… he wasn't even supposed to be there, but for some reason it felt… safe. It was nice to be taken care of instead of being the one who takes care of everyone."

"Did you know he was a vampire back then?"

"My friend Jake had some suspicions, especially since his father disliked Edward's father. Jake's Quileute and their legends talk about vampires and he told me. I was even asked to sit in around the campfire for 'story night' and the legend was being told. At first I thought the whole tribe was insane because vampires… it's the thing from stories, it couldn't possibly be real, right?"

Rebekah smiled at that. "Of course not."

"But stories and legends have to come from _somewhere_. So I did my research and I figured it out. Edward always tried to deflect me when I brought it up and eventually started to entertain me by asking me about my theories and I told him I thought he was a vampire."

"I hazard a guess that that was the point where he fully let you into his life?"

Bella nodded. "He even admitted it was hard for him to be around me because my blood smelled too good for him to resist. That I was his singer and that every vampire has one."

"That's ridiculous. Blood is blood," Rebekah huffed. "Whatever they've been smoking, I don't want it."

"There was a thunderstorm one night and everyone gathered up to go and play baseball out in the rain because it was the only time where they could use their strength and speed to their fullest. Vampire baseball was fun while it lasted, a couple of nomads strolled in and they thought it was amusing how protective the clan was over me, the only human, and wanted me dead."

"I do have to admit, in the past, the thought of being around humans without them being a source for food, was appalling. Fragile beings. I would have wanted the same, to be honest. I can't begin to count the times I wanted to sink my teeth into Marcel when he was growing up, simply for him being around us all the time."

Bella shuddered at the thought.

"Oh, don't worry love, Niklaus doesn't want you harmed," Rebekah reassuringly smiled at her.

"Up until that baseball game, everything had been amazing with Edward and his family, and then things changed. I nearly died because one of the nomads lured me away but Edward yet again saved me while my body was burning with venom."

"Ew," the vampire shuddered at that. "That's right, the Cold Ones are venomous. Oh, the horror. Gross. Why didn't he just kill you? Surely with so much venom inside of you you'd have turned?"

"He wanted me to lead a full human life and not frozen at 17. I'm actually glad I'm still fully human. Yes, I'm fragile and I am clumsy but to live with him? Forever? No offense to you, Rebekah."

"None taken, little Dove. There are times where I wonder that myself when dealing with my brothers," she smiled at her. "But the good far outweighs the bad. I've seen things you cannot even begin to imagine."

"Yeah, but with Edward and his family?" Bella countered. "Things only got worse from there, I was aware about how they were treating me, Edward even dumped me once, wanting me to be safe."

"He did?"

Bella nodded. "And I was stupid enough to take him back because I was scared shitless that the remaining nomads would hurt my dad or my wolf friends."

"But you didn't need to fear them, did you?"

Bella shook her head as she stuffed her hands in her pocket. "If I leave now, chances are they will hurt or kill someone that I love. They may have isolated me from my friends, and somewhat from my father, but it doesn't mean that they wouldn't hurt them if I'd do anything. And it's not as if anything can be done about it. They're super strong and they can't be hurt unless you have super strength yourself and are able to rip them apart. And even then you'd have to set them on fire."

"I can see your predicament," Rebekah said, surprised by the girl's fighting spirit. She wasn't a meek little lamb, not when she wasn't scared or afraid something bad would happen. Her spirit was definitely broken, sure, but at least she was aware that things weren't right. "But why does that not make you a victim?"

"Because…" Bella started and then shut up. She didn't have a choice in the matter, she had to stay or suffer the consequences. She wasn't a victim because she'd been so stupid to fall in love with Edward. "I'm not. I have to stay, it's my own fault. And it's tiny breathers such as these that keep me sane."

"No, you're right, you're not a victim," Rebekah said with a nod. "The situation you're in is not your fault, Bella. It's theirs. They have been trying to groom girls ever since they originated. If anything, you're a survivor."

Bella looked up to her as they were rounding the corner onto Bourbon Street. It had felt good to tell Rebekah her story, it felt liberating and she felt a rush of confidence run through her body."I have to. I don't have another choice."

"If you could do anything, you would, wouldn't you?"

"I would rip them apart, shove their arms in their mouths and their feet up their asses," Bella said without thinking and then winced before looking around to see if anyone else had heard that. "Oh, that sounded so bad…"

"No, no," Rebekah laughed. "That was exactly what I wished you'd say because you should never, ever, allow anyone to pull you down like that. You should not suffer any longer. When you get home, you should tell all of this to the Chief of that tribe of wolves and have them take your revenge."

"I can't. I don't want them to get hurt."

"You said they were wolves, surely they're strong enough to tear a Cold One apart."

"And the Cullens are strong enough to hurt them in return. I'm sorry, Rebekah, but I hate it when other people have to fight my battles, especially when they could get hurt."

"I admire your heart, Bella," Rebekah said solemnly. "Let's get inside and see if Kol has indeed acquired you a new phone."

Kol had indeed bought her a new phone. He boasted that he could have gotten her a new battery but he figured there would be things on her old phone that the Cullens could use to keep track of her and he wanted her to have a clean phone. He'd not only bought her a new phone but also brought her a box of pastries to show her how sorry he was. Kol promised not to do it again, but Bella wasn't sure if she could take his word for that.

She was sitting in a comfortable chair in the court yard with her notebook to write down from what she could remember from the conversation she had with Rebekah at the spa about the history of New Orleans. At first glance, she was alone, but she knew someone was keeping an eye on her, after so long with the Cullens, she had developed some sixth sense for it. Whomever it was, she wasn't really bothered by it. She'd do the same thing if she took a stranger into her home.

Bella was just about to take a bite out of her second pastry when her phone rang. Glancing at the number, she immediately picked it up. "Hi Charlie," she greeted her father with a smile on her face.

"_Hiya Bells, how's it going?"_

"New Orleans is fantastic," she replied enthusiastically. "The whole atmosphere of the city is amazing, you'd love it here."

"_Oh, I don't know, I like it here. It's nice and quiet."_

"You're such an old man," she grinned.

"_You don't need to remind me of that. How's the trip going?"_

"I'm learning a lot about New Orleans' history. It's amazing how much of a history a city has, it's completely different from Forks."

"_I'll bet. Just make sure you're getting home safe, alright?"_

"I'm still being minded, Charlie. We're coming back in a couple of days."

"_Edward here told me you ran away."_

Of course he did. Bella audibly sighed as she rubbed her eyes, spreading icing sugar all over them. She tried to rub it away with her sleeve as well as she could as she thought of an answer. Edward was obviously already in Forks. There's no way that she could have seen Emmett and Rosalie earlier. "I didn't. You know the school system, the teacher wants us to learn about the history of New Orleans and she doesn't even know much herself. She's a bad guide. I prefer to do things on my own."

"_Just be safe, sweetheart."_

"Don't worry, if anything happens, you taught me well."

_"Is everything alright between you and Edward? He said you broke his heart yesterday. He couldn't sleep last night because he was worried about you being alone in a big city."_

Bella tried hard not to let out a huff. Edward was such a drama queen. A manipulative bastard. It didn't surprise her that he had gone straight to Charlie, he was her achilles heel. "I'll make it up to him when I get home in a couple of days. I didn't mean to upset him."

_"Have fun, Bells, I'll talk to you soon."_

After hanging up on her father, she switched off the phone and continued to write in her notebook, trying to remember what Rebekah had told her, but her mind was flooded with how Edward was going to make her pay for 'upsetting him'. She was breaking so many rules that it was going to be virtually impossible for her to return and have a life. She was probably going to get stripped off all of the freedom with restrictions he had given her.

She grew frustrated with herself as she knew she had to leave him but couldn't, out of fear that everyone would get hurt, including herself. Bella felt how an energy built up inside of her and before she was aware of what was happening, the box of pastries flew across the courtyard. "Shit!" she said, partially cursing, partially in shock as she ran towards the mess to clean it up.

"Maybe it hadn't been such a good idea to give you a box of pastries right before you're supposed to have dinner with me and my siblings, love, but to toss them aside like that?"

Bella looked up to Kol from her position on the floor. He had this self-absorbed smirk on his face as he was leaning against a pillar with his arms crossed over his chest. "It was an accident," she said as she continued to clean up the mess. "I didn't mean to do this."

"Ah, but it happened, you should be proud of yourself!"

"So is this going to happen whenever I feel like I want to hit someone?" Bella said as she dusted herself off and got to her feet. She then turned to Kol and crossed her arms over her chest, mirroring him. "Because if that's the case, I hope your brother has a damn good insurance because I might break more stuff."

"It's all about control, which would be impossible for you to learn now seeing as your emotions are all over the place," he explained. "I mean, we could try, but I can tell you have a lot of anger and frustration stored into your body. We need to get rid of that first."

"How?"

Kol shrugged. "They're your emotions, not mine. You have a surplus of them, you need to get rid of some of it."

"How?"

"Kill someone? I don't know," he said with a shrug. "Come on, let's have dinner, you can meet my brother Elijah."


	4. Friends in Arms

Bella was amazed by how well she had slept for the second night in a row. Usually she felt extremely uncomfortable when she slept in a strange bed or all alone, but she seemed to be doing quite well. She was in a strange house, filled with strangers - most of them were vampires - but she felt liberated, somehow. It was nice to fall asleep without someone watching her or lay in bed with her and cooling her off which made it impossible for her to fall asleep for a long time.

She closed and locked the bathroom door when she went to clean herself up, even though she was all alone in the room. It felt odd, somewhat claustrophobic, but it felt good. And the bathtub looked amazing as well. Rebekah had told her the day before that there was nothing wrong by taking a long bath and soak, to think about things or just to doze for awhile.

Bella only went back into the room to get her notebook and a pen before going back into the bathroom as the tub filled up. Soon, she spent the next half hour soaking and writing on her paper, finding the experience relaxing. She was all by herself and she had fun without being judged or being told what to do.

When she was all dressed and in the process of cleaning up the bedroom, a polite knock was heard on the door and she half expected the door to open and the person just barging into the room. When it didn't happen, she walked to the door and opened it, revealing Elijah. She had met him the night before during dinner and he seemed the calmest of the siblings. "If I didn't know any better, I'd say you and your siblings pull straws early in the morning to see who's going to take care of the teenager residing in the guest bedroom and you lost today."

"Good morning to you too, Miss Swan," Elijah greeted her with a smile. "I'm glad to see you in such good spirits this morning."

"Good morning," she smiled. "And I am, thank you."

"I was thinking maybe you and I could go for a stroll through New Orleans today. It is far more than the French Quarter."

"Sounds great," she grinned appreciatively at him and turned around to get her bag. She nearly tripped over her feet while doing so but was glad she hadn't fallen over. That would have been embarrassing.

Elijah took her for a tour through the Garden District after hopping onto a street car. She had been there two days previously when they met at the cemetary - something she still thought of as being creepy - and hoped he wouldn't take her there again.

He told her of how he and his siblings arrived in New Orleans somewhere in the 1700's out of Europe and basically saw the city turn into what it was right now. They helped build the city and Bella could have sworn she saw some pride on his face, which made her smile. She had already noticed that despite the Mikaelsons seemingly being thrown together with their various personalities and their probably bloody history, that at least they achieved something with their years on the Earth, unlike the Cullens, so a little bit of pride was well deserved.

After lunch, Elijah took her to the public library to dig through old records. He admitted it wasn't one of his favourite ways to spend the time and he had kept records of his own, but he wasn't keen to allow anyone to make copies out of it, mostly because it held his personal notes as well.

It could of been awkward to see pictures of him, Klaus and Rebekah in old newspapers as they hadn't aged one bit but it wasn't. She was surprised, however, that the family allowed old images as the one she had found to exist. What if someone would find out their secret?

She found one image dating somewhere in 1821 where the three were with what looked like a young Marcel and another person and she was intrigued as the siblings didn't look all too pleased and the headline of the story was _'Forty-six people found murdered by escaped negros.' _"What happened here?"

"It… was a nightmare I'd really wish to forget," Elijah sighed as he looked at the article. "And partially my fault."

"Howso?"

"Niklaus had saved Marcel from slavery and a life filled with abuse the year before. He seemed to have lost interest in him in 1821 and from then on I took him under my wing, I educated him, I started to teach the boy everything I knew and I didn't see Niklaus had grown jealous. He undaggered Kol, much against my wishes." Elijah pointed at the strange man standing next to Klaus. "Our brother Kol is a handful now, but he was even more so when he was a vampire. He was wild and reckless, he could enjoy himself a little too much. He was also the one who could make Niklaus even more volatile than he already could be. The two of them started to paint the town red, quite literally. We are photographed here as we watch how those bodies were carried out of the building and how the families grieved. Rebekah and I thought it would be a lesson for both Niklaus and Kol that this wasn't a proper way to go about things. In the past, their carelessness had caused us having to move when we'd only just settled in one place."

"Wait, _they_ killed those people?" Bella had a shocked and surprised tone in her voice, but Elijah wasn't impressed. Kol and Niklaus had done a lot worse back in the day, but he wasn't going to tell her that. She knew how vampires worked, didn't she?

"We're vampires, dear," Elijah smiled at her. "We drink blood to live."

"Yes, but Kol and Klaus murdered all those people?"

"Sadly, yes. Kol recently divulged there were bodies up in the attic as well, the count was more around sixty-" When he saw the incredulous look on her face, he stopped. "A lot has changed over the last few hundred years, Bella. I can't say that we're living on the straight and narrow, as we do not. We try to keep a low profile as much as possible, it took Niklaus hundreds of years to finally learn that lesson, and even then, his emotions sometimes get the better of him. But he has myself and Rebekah to keep an eye on him. We're a family."

"What about Kol?"

"What about him? He used to be irrational, reckless, careless and too wild to keep around, we had him in his coffin for most of the time and every time we let him out, we realised the mistake we'd made. He's too much of a child."

Bella's jaw fell open. "He's your brother."

"Yes, but our hands were full with Niklaus."

"Wow." She sounded appalled and shocked at the same time as she closed the books and started to put them on the library cart to bring them back.

"Make no mistake, Miss Swan, we used to be a great part of society and every family has skeletons in their closets. Kol was not one to be reasoned with, no matter how many times we tried to temper him."

"So you'd just neutralize him for a few years and hoped he learned his lesson?" she huffed as she gathered her things. "It's rather a convenient thing, isn't it? Get tired of one sibling and just give them a timeout lasting years."

"It's not that simple…"

"Yes, it is," Bella was furious as she stormed out of the library, followed closely by Elijah. "You were telling me earlier how humans are precious and how you like them and you were saying that family is important. How does not giving your brother the love and attention he needs - _craves_ \- fit into that? Yes, Kol might be a bit… unpredictable but…"

"He's not to be reasoned with. Whereas Niklaus, Rebekah and I value family over everything, Kol sees everything as a game and if he's on the losing side, he'll switch sides. He doesn't take responsibility, he-"

"He is a kid," Bella breezed as she continued to march back to the Abattoir. "Yes, he's over a thousand years old but since you had him daggered for the most part, he never grew up. No wonder he has a violent past, he wanted your attention and all you did was dagger him because he was a pain in the ass," she continued. "It must be agony for you now that he's human and you can't _dagger_ him."

Elijah watched in amusement as she walked the wrong way but didn't say anything just yet. He appreciated it when a woman spoke her mind like she did. He found it refreshing, especially since she hadn't been around them for that long. It showed she was more observant than he or his siblings had imagined. He could understand that from a _human_ point of view that she was right, but he and his family hadn't been human for so long and there was only so much of Kol either of his siblings could take. And she was right, now that he was human, it was harder to quiet him, which was the reason why he didn't live with them. He or Niklaus could easily lose their temper and accidentally snap his neck out of habit. And despite not really agreeing with Kol from time to time, both Elijah and Niklaus did not want to kill their own brother.

He didn't say anything for a long time mostly as she was still fuming and trying to calm herself down and he didn't want to cause her to lose herself in the presence of others. She was an angry young woman and he understood why, but something needed to be done because Claire witches were powerful and to not have said power under control could be disastrous.

"How about we go left on the next street, Miss Swan?" He calmly suggested, which was followed by a huff and her turning left with her firmly stuffing her hands in her pockets.

When they had discussed Bella the previous night, Rebekah had divulged Bella either had to be a good actress or wasn't a threat to them. She, and Kol, were agreeing with the latter, but both he and Niklaus had been wary, even though it was Niklaus' doing that the girl was in their lives right now. He had thought it would be _fun_ to antagonize the Cullens by taking their human pet for a couple of days but hadn't thought of the fact Bella could have been a plant. Clearly, she wasn't.

"Left again, please," he prompted her.

Of course, taking Bella in had everything to do with her treatment by the Cold Ones. Elijah sinceriously hoped that in the next few days, the girl would have enough confidence to end things with Edward for once and for all. Maybe, if the girl would show Elijah and his siblings more trust, they could do something more to help her. It was certainly a matter to discuss.

He quickly shot Kol a text message to meet him and Bella halfway. The girl was determined to give him the silent treatment and although it didn't matter to Elijah, he wanted her to get her mind off of it and Kol was the right person to do so. He had become more agreeable as a person lately and more in touch with the world around him, and the girl seemed to favor him.

When they approached LaFayette Square, Kol was waiting for them with two coffees in his hands, obviously one was for himself, the other for Bella. "Wow, Elijah, what did you do?" Kol scolded his brother as he handed the spare coffee to Bella, who gratefully took it and took a sip of it. "Did you kill a puppy in front of her to show her how masculine you are?" He then looked at Bella. "I'm sorry love, we've been trying to teach him that puppies are a no-go area."

Bella simply stared at Elijah until he walked away. She then turned to Kol and gently touched his arm. "I'm sorry."

"For what, darling?" He asked as he put his arm around her and started to walk with her. He had something in mind that would definitely cheer her up. "He should be the one who's sorry, he's obviously upset you."

"I am sorry for the way your siblings have been treating you. It's not fair."

Kol's smile seemed to falter a bit which he tried to hide by taking a sip of his coffee. "You've been talking about me, ey?" he joked. "I thought so, my ears were burning!"

Bella shrugged. "Elijah took me to the public library to scour through some old newspapers for my paper and we got talking. I just don't understand why he was so blasé about how he and Klaus treated you. Immortal or not, it's just wrong."

"Glad you're on my side with that, Love," he smiled at her. "It feels good to know someone who thinks the same way."

Bella nodded. "Now, how are we going to fix it?"

Kol started to laugh. "Love, we can't. Don't you think I've tried? It's the Holy Trinity and no one else. They're just stuck with me now because I'm no longer immortal. We can't change my position in my family or how they treat me, but instead, we can change everything wrong in _your_ life."

Bella huffed. "I told you, we can't."

"And I told you, for every problem there is a solution. Think about that." He gently squeezed her shoulder. "Enough of the serious stuff. Let's have some fun."

"Yeah, alright, I do need to ask you something though," she stopped walking as she looked at him, hoping he wouldn't be mad. "I… don't get mad, okay?"

"I promise, what's on your mind?"

"Could you please stop calling me _love_? It's freaking me out."

Kol blinked. He had expected something else, but a simple pet name that everyone used was the problem? How? Why? "Why?" he echoed his thoughts.

"Edward calls me that… it's …" Bella shuddered. "Please, try not to call me that?"

"I'll try," he smiled at her and kissed the top of her head. "You should have said something sooner, I would have tried earlier."

She shrugged. "I didn't really dare to ask…"

"Oh, but Darling, don't be afraid to speak your mind. The time where such was frowned upon is long gone!"

"Yeah… but…"

"You're free as a bird. At least for these couple of days, until you decide what to do. Don't be afraid of speaking your mind," he continued. "It's very sexy when a woman does that." Kol then winked at her and started to walk into the direction he wanted to take her.

Kol took her to the zoo, and it was actually kind of fun especially since he liked to tease the animals by making rocks float when nobody was looking or have a big cat chase its own tail. If she had to be honest, she'd seen better zoos, ones that had kangaroos for example. Ever since she'd been a child, she loved the kangaroos. And zebras, Kol said it was because she was a girl and girls love horses.

Bella had a great time regardless, if just for the company, talking about absolutely nothing and making fun of the animals. He then took her to a restaurant on St. Peter Street in the Quarter where they had a delicious pizza and ice cream for dessert. Kol insisted on bringing back something called "Frosty Paws", which was a dessert for dogs but perfectly edible for non-dogs too and he wanted to give it to his brother Klaus, who, upon receiving the gift, was visibly not amused but didn't lash out since Bella was standing next to Kol. Kol made it worse by barking as he walked away from Klaus and she had to stifle a giggle, simply because it was hilarious and in good spirit.

Bella invited Kol into her room as she spread out all the copies which she had gathered at the public library and continued to make notes in her notebook while laying down on the floor. She was going to have to work it all out when she had access to a computer when she got home.

"Stop it," she laughed when Kol threw a pillow against her. "I'm working here."

"And I'm bored."

"Why is that my problem?"

"You invited me into your room, remember?" Kol pointed out as he laid down next to her, facing the ceiling as he had been observing her from his chair, she was a work of art. "You're supposed to entertain me."

She put down her pencil and leaned her head onto her hand as she looked at him. "And how am I supposed to do that?"

"I don't know. We could play a game?" He smirked at her. "How about two lies and one truth? We have to figure out what's the lie and what's the truth."

"What does the winner get?"

"Eternal glory?"

"Deal. You first."

Kol sucked in some air as he was thinking. "My siblings think I'm the most amazing brother ever," he snorted as Bella had a smile on her face. "I thoroughly enjoyed my time in Europe and I'm not afraid of anything."

"The second one," Bella replied with a nod. "That was easy."

"Your turn, Dollface."

"I used to own a red pick up truck," she said after a moment of silence. "I just love wearing skirts and dresses and I'm failing school."

"Well," Kol looked her over as he licked his lips. Bella was a regular human being, not too thin and she had a great arse which was accentuated by her jeans. "It's a shame you love to wear girly clothes because those jeans look stunning on you."

Bella hit him on the chest.

"Ouch!" he laughed. "No, you used to own a red pick up truck. What happened to it?"

"It wasn't safe enough, apparently. Some bored vampires smashed it to pieces to demonstrate how unsafe it was. Pissed me off. Pissed Charlie off."

"I would have broken their fingers just to make sure they'd never do it again," Kol muttered. "It's your stuff. They should have left it alone."

"Says you who destroyed my phone."

"And I apologized for that and got you a new one," Kol pointed out. "I've learned my lesson. I'm not going to do it again," he added honestly.

Bella could tell he was being sincere, it was just a feeling she had deep inside. She smiled at him. "I believe you."

He rolled to his side to get a better look at her and was quiet for a moment. "You know, from the look on my brother's face this afternoon, I suspect you gave him hell."

"I did."

"You should do the same with the Cold Ones," he started and tucked a strand of hair behind her ear. "You don't have to do it alone, you know. Them lot don't want me around anyway, I could come with ya."

She knew he was right, she was perfectly fine and able to stand up for herself but didn't out of fear for the safety of others. "What about my dad? The pack?"

"The way I see it is that that pack of yours are more than capable of taking care of themselves. Didn't the legend say they were created specifically to deal with the Cold Ones?"

"Yeah, but..."

"You can't save everyone, Cuddles, sometimes it's best to think of yourself." Before Bella could say anything in return he bopped her on the nose. "You're great, Bella, you're a positively agreeable young woman and they're only going to ruin you."

"But…"

"Nope, don't want to hear it." Kol shook his head. "You're a fiery dragon, it's time to act like one. Just don't start breathing real fire and set this house alight because I don't think Niklaus would be thrilled about it."

Bella giggled and then nodded. "Alright, I'll try."

"There's no trying love, you either do or you don't."

Bella bit her lip as she looked at him and thought for a moment. "Okay Yoda, but only if you're really coming back with me because if I go back alone I won't be able to."

"Or you could just stay here."

Bella snorted and shook her head. "As much as I'd like to, I'm not leaving Charlie there and I'm still in school. He's still responsible for me."

"Seems like you're more responsible for him."

"He's my dad. He doesn't know how to dad very well but he's my dad. You'll like him."

"Hey now," Kol playfully grinned. "I didn't know we were that far in our relationship to meet the parents!"

Bella snorted. "Parent. Charlie. As long as you're on your best behaviour, he won't shoot you."

"There are guns in the house?"

"Yep."

"Do you truly want me to come home with you, Poppet?" Kol asked her again. He knew he had offered it and she had something along those lines as well, but he wanted to be sure. He didn't want to give up his life here in New Orleans, even if it was far from being perfect, but a change of scenery and some distance from Niklaus was quite alluring.

Bella blushed. "You said it yourself, you could come with me and…" she stammered. "I wouldn't mind, I think it would be a great idea."

"Good," Kol approved with a smile and a nod. "I'm up for an adventure. First thing in the morning I'm going to enroll into your school."

She blinked at that. "You're what?"

"They're at your school, right? Those Cullens? Oh, hey, we should ask Rebekah to come with. She loves high school _and_, believe it or not, she's strong enough to fight those Cullens if need be. I'm not certain how my witchy powers work outside of New Orleans, you see. They might fizzle out like yours will."

Bella was baffled as she listened to Kol and saw the excitement in his eyes. She sat up at the same time as he did and he was actually constructing a plan which held possibilities. She could finish her school at least because if she didn't, Charlie would get angry, and then do whatever she wanted, free from the Cullens. It was only a month or so that she had left in school. She just wondered why he'd do something like that for her. Or why Rebekah would, seeing as Bella was just someone random.

She got jostled out of her thoughts when Kol called for Rebekah, who was in the room in an instant. "You don't have to shout, brother," she said annoyed.

"I wanted to give you a headache," Kol smirked as he got to his feet and started to tell her his plan.

Rebekah listened with a smile growing on her face. "Will there be arse kicking?" She asked excitedly when Kol finished talking.

"You don't get it."

"Yes, I do, now, will there be arse kicking? Sparkly arses to be exact?"

"Probably. I'm sure at some point in one of them will need reminding of manners."

"I'm in." Rebekah grinned. "Oh, this is going to be _fun_. High school and arse kicking, two of my favourite things."


	5. Nobody Dies

I don't think I've THANKED my awesome beta yet here on . Meekobb is my partner in crime and we write stories together and it's thanks to her that I dare to write this solo project. Go find her awesome stories on this website and give her some love too :-)

I'm really not one for making Author's Notes, but I'd like to thank all of my reviewers and viewers. You are all awesome and I like to hear all of your thoughts.

\- Buggy

ps: Warning for this chapter: Canon character's death mentioned in passing. I'm sorry.

psps: This chapter is unbeta-ed because Meeko has some computer troubles.

* * *

Rebekah insisted they'd start the drive back the next day and had found them an amazing convertible that would be comfortable for all three of them. Bella objected to it for a moment, it was at least a two day drive if driving without stopping for sleep and food, she was afraid what would happen if she didn't get off the plane with her classmates the following day. Rebekah assured her it was going to be alright and that she had to consider it a big middle finger towards the Cullens. Bella did call her father though, about how she was travelling back with some new friends instead of with her classmates and how it would to take a few days longer for her to return.

Kol chipped in that a road trip sounded fun and off they went. They stopped in Shreveport for lunch and then drove straight through Oklahoma to Kansas where they stayed the night. Bella had to admit, it was fun and it gave the three of them to get to know each other better. Not to mention the throve of history details Rebekah was telling them about New Orleans so Bella at least could finish her paper.

The most interesting part of the first part of the trip was when Rebekah and Kol were trying to remember and count the many times they had been sidelined by their siblings. While Kol was down for longer periods of time, Rebekah received the dagger treatment the most. Bella just sat in the back seat and watched the siblings bicker. Despite some of the subjects they were bickering about (murder, mayhem…), she realized it would have been fun if she had had a sibling of her own when growing up. She liked being alone, but to see Kol and Rebekah act like a real brother and sister (opposed to the Cullens) was hilarious.

Day three saw them make a detour to Yellowstone National Park, just because they could. It was where Kol discovered he could still do magic, just not as powerful as in New Orleans. He tried to push his sister to the edge of a ravine, just for fun and Bella stopped him in time for his sister not to plunge down the mountain. Immortal or not, she wanted Rebekah in one piece.

The day after, they drove to Salem. It was Rebekah's revenge over Kol for trying to push her off the cliff the day before. Bella snickered when she told Rebekah it had been the wrong Salem, that she meant to visit Salem, Massachusetts, and not Oregon. Rebekah tried to cover up her mistake but Bella wasn't fooled, neither was Kol.

When they arrived in Forks the next day, Rebekah commented that she could already tell Forks was the most dull town she'd ever been in and that the weather was going to ruin her hair. Even Mystic Falls had something going for it and what kind of a name was Forks anyway? What was the next town called? Spoons?

Bella only made it worse by saying La Push was close by, which caused Kol to let out a maniacal giggle as Rebekah started off a rant about pushing Forks up someone's sparkly ass when she'd get the chance.

Rebekah's ranting lasted up until they pulled up to the drive at the Swan house, with Rebekah letting out a whine. She found the house a bit too small for her liking, which let Kol to apologize for Rebekah's behaviour as sometimes she could be a little bit snobby.

"Now, remember, Cuddles," Kol said to Bella as they were getting out of the car. "You can greet your dad and all, but don't forget to invite Bekah in so she can compel your father."

"I'm still not comfortable with that…"

"Oh, don't worry, little dove, it doesn't hurt and it'll be for the best. I mean, I'm going to have to compel all the teachers at your school as well. It's an occupational hazard. Now, go greet your father."

Bella entered the house and found her father sitting at the dining table, polishing his gun, much in the same way when she brought Edward home for the first time. "You're glued to that gun, aren't you?" Bella greeted him as she hugged him as tight as she could, glad to feel his strong arms around her again.

"You have questionable friends sometimes," Charlie muttered as he returned the hug. "Glad to see you're okay, Bells."

"Of course I am," she smiled at him. "My new friends made sure nothing happened to me. Oh, let me get them for you." She walked to the door and smiled. "Kaleb, Rebekah, are you two coming inside or what?" She found it strange to call Kol, _Kaleb_, but both he and Rebekah insisted as Kol wasn't the name on his passport.

Charlie rose from his chair when Kol entered the house. Charlie tried to make himself taller than Kol, to exert authority. It didn't work, of course, as Kol was taller, end of. It was adorable though how her father tried. "Nice to meet you, Mr. Swan, Bella's told me all about you, I'm Kaleb," he introduced himself and extended his hand.

"Uh huh. You like fishing boy?"

Kol had a slight panicked look on his face as he looked at Bella who sported a wide grin. "I don't know, sir, I haven't tried yet, but I'm willing to?" He had done some fishing for food on a daily basis of course, when he was a child but it sucked. But for Bella he'd try anything, though he wouldn't admit to it. Not yet. Maybe her father could make it fun.

Charlie nodded as his lips curled into a small smile. His daughter's boyfriend almost ran for the hills when he mentioned fishing. He looked at the blond girl stepping inside his house and it reminded him of Edward's sister, whose name he didn't quite remember just now. He feared she was the same sort of woman and the way Edward's sister treated his little girl was cold and standoffish, he sinceriously hoped this was not the case with Kaleb's sister..

"My name is Rebekah," she introduced herself, extending her hand for Charlie to take it. When Charlie did, she pulled him closer and looked him in the eye. "My brother and I lost our parents recently and our guardian, our older brother Elijah, thought it would be a good idea for us to have a change of scenery while we try to heal from this horrible ordeal. We are forever grateful for you to open up your house to us and our brother will make sure to send you money to feed us. Your daughter assured our brother that you'd look out for us as you'd do with your own blood."

"Yes, yes of course," Charlie muttered. "If I can't help other people, then what kind of police chief am I?"

Rebekah smiled as she released him from her hold and looked around. "What a wonderful home you have, Mr. Swan. Are you sure you have beds for Kaleb and I?"

"Of course," Charlie said as he started to put away his gun. With his house now filled with teenagers it wasn't a good idea to have it laying around. "Jacob Black helped me clear the attic and helped me bring the beds up there…" he said before looking at Bella. "Uhm, sweetheart…"

Bella looked at her father and saw the look on his face. It was the same look he had whenever he had to inform a family member someone had died. "Charlie?" she questioned a bit uneasy.

"I know you've just come home and you still need to unpack and all, but I'd rather you hear it from me now than in passing…"

Instinctively she moved closer to Kol and grabbed his hand. The Cullens had done something irreversible, she just knew it.

"Seth Clearwater died two days ago."

She felt the colour drain from her face. "How?"

"One of those animal attacks we've been dealing with recently. He must have gotten too far away from home in the mountains, I'm sorry sweetheart. Hadn't he been discovered, we wouldn't have known."

"Who found him?" She stammered, trying to keep herself from crying. Seth had always been one of her favourite kids at La Push. He was always happy and active and so pure of heart, knowing he wasn't there any more felt as if her heart was getting ripped apart.

"Edward. He was quite shaken up by it." He took a step towards his daughter but when she turned into the boy, _Kaleb_, stopped the approach. "Want me to call him for you?"

"No!" Bella said as she ran up the stairs towards her room, finding Edward sitting on her bed. "The fuck!"

"Hey, Bella," he greeted her in his soft voice, his eyes begging for her to do the same as not to have the whole house listen in on their conversation. "I suppose your father has told you about Seth?"

"You're not supposed to be here," she hissed. "Get the fuck out, Edward."

"Hey now," he said as he got up and pulled her into his arms, locking her in. "That's no way to talk to me, Bella, I'm glad you're home."

"Edward please," she said as she tried to wiggle her way out of his hold. "You killed him, didn't you? Because of New Orleans."

"No, I didn't," he said as he ran his hands through her hair. "I did it because you broke so many rules and I told you there'd be consequences."

Bella growled and kneed him in the groin, ending up hearing bones shatter in her knee instead of having him letting go of her. "Ow fuck!" she cried out. "You asshole! Get out of my house, now!"

"Bella, everything alright, Cuddles?" she heard Kol's voice from outside her bedroom.

"You brought them here?" Edward immediately let go of Bella, who thankfully fell on her bed. "Bella, I am disappointed, we're not done talking."

Bella saw Edward jump out of her window and cursed under her breath. Her knee fucking hurt. "No, everything's not alright," she whined as tears ran down her cheeks.

The door almost flew off its hinges before Kol stepped inside and he quickly made his way over to her side. "Rebekah said something about sparkles, but with your dad downstairs she couldn't be clearer nor rush upstairs... Was he here?"

"Gloating," she said as she gritted her teeth and pulled up her jeans leg, revealing a knee which seemed to be in shambles and swelling up.

"That looks painful," Kol said shocked. "Did he hurt you?"

"I hurt myself," she said as she shook her head. "Tried to knee him in the privates."

"That's my girl," Kol said with pride in his voice and put his arm around her. "Don't worry cuddles, we'll have you dancing in no time."

"Funny," she remarked. "I need to go to the hospital."

"Nonsense," he replied as he looked around. "Bekah, come have a look at Bella's room! It's marvellous! She has fairy lights!"

Even though she was in pain, Bella blushed at the mention of the fairy lights. It was girly, whereas she didn't like girly activities that much. She had to admit, the spa visit of the other day hadn't been too bad.

"Oh, you're right, this room is great!" Rebekah said as she took a quick look around before finding Bella in agony on the bed. "I knew it, he was here!"

"There's nothing you could have done without making Charlie suspicious," Bella winced as Rebekah had taken a bite out of her wrist and was offering it to her. "Ew!" she exclaimed as she saw the blood appear from the two tiny holes on the other girl's wrist.

"Just drink, little dove," Rebekah's tone of voice was kind as she sat down on the other side of her. "It'll save you a trip to hospital."

"She kneed him in the privates," Kol grinned at his sister while Bella still looked appalled by the idea of drinking vampire blood. "He didn't get hurt, but it's the thought that matters."

"Well done," she smiled at the girl before pressing her bleeding wrist to Bella's mouth. "It's just blood, darling, it will heal your knee."

She tried hard not to gag when she reluctantly started to do as told until Rebekah removed her wrist. Bella wiped off her mouth as she had the feeling there was blood everywhere. She hoped her stomach was strong enough to keep it down. Blood freaked her out. In the mean time, she saw the swelling of her knee go down and heard it snap back in place. It was hard not to panic because of the sensation. "Thank you, Rebekah," she said softly.

"Next time you want to kick him, please do wait until I'm present so I can cheer you on," she smiled at her.

"So what was he gloating about then?" Kol asked as he gently rubbed Bella's back.

"Killing Seth, but he said it was my fault because I broke the rules..."

"Unless you were the one to actually kill the boy, it really wasn't," Rebekah growled. Edward was showing tendencies she had experienced a lot with Klaus. "Can't I just go and kill them all? It would make your life a lot easier."

"No!" Bella said shocked. "Absolutely not. They're a big family with Carlisle being a doctor. Someone will miss them and no matter how discreet you'd be, it'll be a mess."

"Darling, even if I have to compel the entire town..."

"You can take some fingers, how's that?" Bella said after a moment of thought. "Then he pays for Seth's death and it will prevent him from performing his favourite hobby."

"What? Beating you?"

"He never beat me," Bella rolled her eyes. "No, playing the piano is where his heart lies. Cold Ones don't need sleep and he can play all night and day if he wants to."

"But killing is much more fun," Rebekah pouted.

"No killing in Forks, please."

"Fine, we'll do it your way," Rebekah responded with a deep, over dramatic sigh. "I have to admit though, you said you weren't girly. I'd say this room proves otherwise. It's elegant."

"Yes, and it will be the young man's room, I'm afraid," Charlie said as he stood in the door opening. "You girls are in the attic."

"It's alright," Kol said with a smile, already his mind was working overdrive. If Edtwat had a habit of sneaking in at night, he'd be in for a surprise. It beat having to spell the windows so they wouldn't be able to be opened by any supernatural being.

"How tired are you from travelling, Bells? If we're going to eat tonight we'd need some groceries."

"Yeah, we can go," Bella said with a nod. "It's a good opportunity to show these two around while you do your background checks, huh?"

"I'm just going to call their brother," Charlie muttered as he walked away.

"I am so glad I brought some toys with me," Kol smiled as he helped Bella to her feet.

"Oh, ugh. Kol." Rebekah said, disgust was evident in her voice. "I do not wish to know the details of your sex-life."

"You went there, Bekah, not me." Kol pointed out with a laugh.

Bella took them to the supermarket where they ran into Jacob. She hadn't spoken to Jacob in a long time and usually when he saw her, he'd make sure he would be out of her way because Edward was with her, but now he just stood there and looked at her. His eyes seemed to have lost their sparkle, which was no wonder after what he was going through. "Lost your ball and chain, did you?"

Bella ran up to him and hugged him tight. "I'm so sorry about Seth, Jake…" she said softly.

"Yeah," he said after taking a deep breath and returning the hug. "Me too… I swear, everyone's on a warpath. They'll get what's - you're not going to tell them, are you?"

"No," she shook her head as she let go of him. "Do what you feel what's right."

"They killed one of us, Bella, the treaty is no longer valid."

"I know." When Jake didn't say anything but just looked at her, she spoke again. "What?"

"I kinda expected you to call your boyfriend immediately, seeing as you two are two peas in a pod."

"Well, I'm not. When's the funeral?"

"We're going to send him off tomorrow, if Leah ever lets go of his body that is. Will you be there?" He asked hopeful.

Bella looked over her shoulder and then back to Jacob. "Can my friends come too?" She asked carefully, knowing it was something special for an outsider to join in on a ritual, but to have her bring two extra, it was something else. "They're good people who are going to help me."

"Help you with what? Get rid of Douchebag? Bella, I've told you we'd help you with that, why did you never ask us to? Why them and not us? We're almost family for fuck's sake!" he breezed. "Especially now Seth's gone… we want to help you."

"And I have told you, I don't want you to get hurt."

"Bull." Jacob said before he stomped out of the supermarket.

"Was he your wolf friend?" Kol asked as he and Rebekah followed Bella through the entry gates. "Quite a temper, hasn't he?"

"He's just upset," Bella sulked as she stuffed her hands in her pockets with a shrug. "I don't blame him." Seeing Jake and how much in pain he was, made her only feel guilty again about Seth. She hadn't killed him but he was dead because of her and it made it worse. "What are you in the mood for tonight for dinner?"

"If you don't want me to snack on people the next few weeks we need to pay a visit to the blood bank," Rebekah reminded her.

"How did you survive the last few days?"

"You don't want to know, little dove," Rebekah smiled knowingly and pointed at some lettuce. "How about a salad for tonight?"

After paying for their groceries, Bella took them to the blood bank where it didn't take long for Rebekah to come back with a cooler filled with bags of blood. "Uhm… where are you going to keep all that?"

"In your fridge, of course," Rebekah said with a shrug.

"What about Charlie?"

"I'll compel him to buy another fridge so I can use this one?"

Bella was quiet as they walked back but turned around just before they would enter the house. "All this compelling won't scramble his brain, would it?"

"Don't worry," Kol said as he opened the door for her. "It's safe. Rebekah knows what she's doing."

After dinner, Charlie got a call from the station he needed to come in for some reason and left, which gave Rebekah the opportunity to bring their luggage up to the attic while Kol and Bella did the dishes. "Would you like me to bring some of your belongings up to the loft, little dove? Such as your wardrobe and your beautiful fairy lights?" Rebekah then called from the landing. "Now your father and Kol won't have to do it!"

"Sure, Rebekah, whatever you feel like doing!"

Bella was pretty sure she could hear a squeal coming from upstairs and then looked at Kol, who was smirking. "What?"

"She's probably going to decorate the entire loft now."

"Oh, let her. This is going to be her home for the next couple of weeks," Bella smiled at him. "We could get you some stuff too."

"Oh yeah, such as?"

"Toy cars. GI-Joes."

Kol sounded mortified. "No."

"Barbies?" Bella teased as she splashed a bit of washing up liquid at him. "Pink curtains?"

"Stop it," he chuckled and smacked her ass with the towel.

"Oh! No, I know! I know!" Bella said as she jumped around him. "A princess bed and a wardrobe filled with tiaras."

"Oi!" Kol snorted as he put his arms around her to stop her from jumping. "What are you trying to tell me, dollface? That I'm a fairy?"

"You don't have wings," Bella shook her head as she looked up to him with the biggest smile on her face. "But we can fix that with one trip to the toy store."

"You little minx," he smiled at her. "Do that and I will have to take my revenge on you."

"Oh yeah? How?"

"Buy me a tiara and wings and you'll find out."

Rebekah had taken pleasure in making the attic a bit nicer to sleep in and Bella thanked Rebekah a million times for swapping one of the beds with her own so she could sleep in her own bed. Not that Bella slept easily. She knew she should be exhausted after the day she had had but all she could do was stare at the roof.

It was in the middle of the night when she heard someone yelp, followed by a crash which made the house shake on its foundations, and some laughter she recognized as Kol's. She couldn't help but being curious. She quietly walked down the creaky stairs towards her room and peeked around the door Kol had left slightly ajar in case something was wrong. "Is everything alright?"

"Oh, I'm sorry, did that wake you?" Kol snickered as he flicked on the lamp on the bedside table and motioned for her to come in.

"No, I can't sleep and you're lucky Charlie is a heavy sleeper, a bomb could go off next to his bed and he wouldn't wake," she said as she walked in and sat down on the side of the bed. "What happened?"

"You see that?" Kol pointed to the innocent looking statue at the window. "It sort of works as an electric fence, anyone touching the window or window sill who's not human gets a shock and is temporarily paralyzed as they drop to the ground." He then put his arm around her and wasn't surprised when she leaned into him, she had a habit of doing sot. "Why can't you sleep?"

"I don't know," she sighed as she rested her head against his shoulder. "I think it has to do with Seth, or that I finally dared to try to hurt Edward… or seeing Jake… I don't know. Maybe a combination of all the above. I've been a horrible friend to Jake recently. And Seth… because of Edward..."

"I'm stopping you right there, Cuddles," he said gently. "I know it's hard to accept, but none of this is your fault. Not even your decision to stay with Edward because you wanted to protect everyone who wasn't you. And we're going to change that. And yes, it's awful and you'll have to work through it, but all that, is not your fault."

"I can't just shake it off as if nothing happened."

"I know and you're not expected to, but it's not worth it to lose sleep over this," he said as he pulled her down with him as he lay back on the bed, making sure the both of them were comfortable. "Go sleep."

"I can't," she giggled. "What if my dad finds us?"

"Then Rebekah will tell him to forget. Now shush and sleep. You have a paper to work on tomorrow."


	6. Mr and Ms Hyde

It was almost as if the Cullens were licking their wounds for the weekend and left Bella alone. She took the time to type out her paper on the computer and Rebekah hovered over her at times to make sure she got the details right. It was a little annoying, but Bella allowed her to because she was a great help as she had a great way with words.

Kol and Rebekah brought her to the edge of the reservation, hoping Bella would be safe amongst the wolves. They'd wanted to respect the rules of the tribe while Bella would go and see Seth off to the great beyond. She hadn't joined the mourning group, but stayed at a distance because she didn't feel like she belonged any more. Seth would have want her to be there and that's why she had gone.

Besides, she had noticed that Seth's sister Leah and Paul Lahote weren't looking at her as if she was friendly. This scared her as both had issues with controlling their emotions and shift. She could see Sam tried to run interference but, it wasn't until Jacob dragged Bella towards his bike that she realized that the two wolves had been close to losing control.

"Leah blames you," Jake said as he drove down the road. "This shouldn't have happened."

"Do you?"

That question only made him pull down the throttle even further, he wanted to be rid of her. "You made your choice when you chose him over me. Just be glad our fathers are still friends."

"Jake, no."

"If you hadn't chosen him, they would have moved on by now and most of us wouldn't have started to shift. If you hadn't chosen him, you and I would be great friends like we used to be, maybe even more. If you hadn't chosen him, you wouldn't have alienated everyone around you. You wouldn't have become this person that I don't know anymore. Your light wouldn't have gone out. If you hadn't chosen him, he wouldn't have killed Seth. Pure and simple. I don't know what you did to piss him off, but it's your fault Seth is dead." Jacob said as he hit the brakes upon seeing Bella's new friends. "I hope they realize how toxic you are."

"They are the ones who are helping me get away from them…" She whispered. She knew she had blown it with Jacob, and his attitude didn't surprise him one bit, but it still hurt to hear the words.

"Who are they, exactly?" He said after taking a deep breath. "You're stuck to him like glue." He continued through gritted teeth as his body had tensed and gripped his handles tightly.

"They were the ones who chased them out of New Orleans. Thanks to them, I was able to stay there longer," she explained in hopefully such a way it wouldn't anger him any further.

"So why did you allow them to get through to you and you shut us out?"

Bella looked over towards Rebekah and Kol, who both watched them with careful eyes from their position across the treaty line. Rebekah at least could hear every word and nodded enough for her to continue. "Jake - you wouldn't believe everything that happened in Louisiana but I'll tell you if you want to know."

He closed his eyes and took a deep breath as if to calm himself before nodding. "Go on."

Bella got off the bike and moved so she could look at him before she started to tell the whole story. As expected, Jacob huffed or snorted at the mention of witches and how she fit in all of it. It wasn't a surprise that he believed the part where she told him about how Rebekah was a different kind of vampire than the Cullens. "And as for getting through to me… they're taking being patient to the extremes," she admitted. "It's hard to let go of things I'm used to and the best thing is, they're not forcing me to do anything I don't want to. They asked what I wanted to do in New Orleans or, once they got to know me, surprised me to take me somewhere I liked." She then grinned. "I hurt myself the other day when we got into town and instead of leaving me alone, they healed me."

"How did you hurt yourself?" Jake asked, his usual concern for her returning quick before he forced himself to push it away. He blinked through confused eyes as he looked her over for the bruising and damage that would normally be on her. "Where did you hurt yourself?"

Bella lifted up her knee and pointed at it. "He was waiting for me when we got back, ambushed me in my bedroom and held me tight. All I could do was try and hurt him… so I kneed him… and broke my knee. I should have known better. He's this marble statue and I'm breakable," she said with a shrug. "But I stood up for myself."

"Can I kill him?" Jacob asked, almost whispering.

"Can you leave Edward to me?" She whispered back. "You can have anyone else."

"Bella, I'm shocked," He laughed. "You break your knee while trying to hurt him and you want him all to yourself?"

"Yup." She then nodded to Kol and Rebekah. "The three of us have a plan. We devised it on our way over here."

"I don't know, Bella. We've been on them ever since Seth died, I can't tell them who to pick."

"Trust me, Edward won't get off easy while we're still here, he'll pay for Seth. But I want to be the one to… you know…"

"You want to get him to New Orleans?"

Bella nodded in response.

"Magic is the stuff of legend, or fairytales."

"So is shifting into a wolf or vampirism," she pointed out. "And yet, here you are." She could have sworn she heard Kol snicker.

"Fine. I'll see what I can do." Jacob sighed as he ran his hand through his hair. "I'm sorry, Bella, but I have to inform you that you're no longer welcome on the reservation for the time being but you and I can still hang out if you want."

"I'd like that," she said with a nod.

He then nodded towards Kol and Rebekah. "They don't pose a threat to the tribe?"

"No," she shook her head with a smile. "Although they both may call you toy dogs or puppies when they see you when you're a wolf, all nice and fluffy."

"Mean," he said with a chuckle and planted a kiss on top of her head. "See you soon then, Bella. Take care of yourself."

"See you, Jake," she smiled at him and watched him speed off. She then walked over to Rebekah and Kol.

"He didn't even apologize to you, how rude." Rebekah noted as she checked Bella for new marks or scratches.

"At least he calmed down enough to hear what I had to say," Bella said as she looked at Rebekah. "They didn't hurt me. Jacob pulled me away the moment some of them were starting to lose their cool with me present there."

"And then he almost lost it," Kol pointed out. "Volatile shifters then?"

"Jake would never hurt me. If he feels like he's going to lose it when I'm around, he tells me to go away or he walks away to calm himself. They're all emotional right now, and I don't blame them."

"Alright," Rebekah said with a small smile. "But tomorrow I can take some fingers, yeah?"

"You want to get expelled on your first day of school?" Bella snorted as they got into the car. "Charlie will not be happy about that."

"Tomorrow evening then," Rebekah smirked. "Hey, does your school have a cheerleading team?"

The first day back at school after the New Orleans trip started off on the right foot, Bella thought sarcastically as they drove up to the parking lot. As usual, the Cullens were standing in one group together. It was drizzling and overcast and they hadn't hurried themselves into the building as much as Bella had hoped they'd do. She had parked the car but didn't dare to step out as she kept looking at them, afraid what might happen when she would.

"There's nothing to be afraid of, Bella," Kol said as he gently squeezed her hand. "They won't do anything in a crowded car park, it would be quite stupid of them."

Rebekah handed her her old phone. "You're going to march up there and you're going to hand him his phone back and tell him that you're coming by tonight to pick up your things."

"What? In the middle of the parking lot?"

"Oh yes," Rebekah said with a big grin on her face. "Right in front of everyone."

"I can't do that!"

"Oh, this is getting old," Rebekah sighed as she got out of the car. "I swear I wish I could compel some confidence in you but I can't. So you're going to get your arse out of the car or I will pull you out and throw you into his arms."

"Rebekah," Kol warned his sister before helping Bella out of the car. He put his arms on Bella's shoulders and made her look at him. "You can do this. You're going to start with the easy part, stroll up to them and greet them. You'll hand Mary-Alice's husband the proof that she's not who she says she is. And then, you'll address yourself to Edward," he said in a calm tone of voice. "Rebekah and I will be right behind you, alright, Cuddles?"

"Just like we discussed," Bella said with a slow nod.

"Exactly, pet. I know it's different to execute the plan for real but you can do this. I know you can and so does Rebekah."

Rebekah leaned against the car when Bella walked to the Cold Ones and sighed deep. "I have to admit, brother, humanity suits you."

Kol scoffed. "I'm a wanker."

"Not to her, you're not. It's refreshing and sweet how you handle her," she then cocked her head as she kept her eye on Bella. "She has an awful posture though..."

Bella bit her lip as she approached the Cullens. She wanted to put her hands in her pockets but with the binder and the phone in both hands, she was unable to. They all stared at her and she lowered her head, she didn't want to see them looking at her. She scowled when she felt a nudge from Kol in her back and lifted her head up again. Witches were assholes. "Thank you for leaving me in New Orleans," she smiled at them. "It was what I needed."

"Good, are you back to your senses now?" Edward remarked as he took a step towards her at the same time as she took a step back.

"Please wait your turn," Bella said politely before looking at Jasper. "I ate so many good things, especially desserts. At points, I felt as if I could explode but it felt great, it reminded me how good food is, how good life is. I had a lot of fun discovering parts of New Orleans, parts of myself, without you." She then looked at Edward. "And then I realized you weren't helping me to become a better person, you were holding me back."

"Bella, that's not true and you know it," Edward pleaded. "We take care of you, we've opened our home, our lives, up to you."

"I am not done." She shot at him before looking back at Jasper. "My new friend recognized Alice, he said he knew her from way back when and that she was someone we believed she was not."

"What are you talking about, Bella?" Jasper asked with a friendly tone of voice. Bella had always liked Jasper. He was much like Kol, being the sibling who was thought of as 'lesser' and 'special needs' while he was a beautiful person on the inside. He was loyal to a fault, though, and that was the biggest problem she had with him.

Bella noticed Alice had turned paler than her usual complexion and smiled widely at Jasper. "I've brought you some light reading, to back up what I just said. She has a lot of skeletons in her closet, Jasper, I just thought you should know." She handed him the folder and then walked over to Edward, who was trying to control his rage, she could tell by how his nostrils were flaring.

Rebekah and Kol had been right; it was for the best to do this in public. She handed him his phone back. "We need to talk, you and I."

"No, we don't, Bella," he said as he frowned at the phone. "What's this?"

"That's me returning your property."

"Why?" He took a step closer as he straightened himself up He knew Bella would be intimidated by his confidence, even if he was faking it. Bella knew there was a chance that he itched to get his hands on her but he knew that he was likely going to lose control if he did and hurt her. Can't hurt the human, but the human could hurt herself on him instead.

"Because I have my own phone now," Bella said as she looked up to him. "I expect you handling by property at your house with care when you pack them for me. I'm coming by tonight to talk."

"Don't be stupid," he scoffed as he handed her the phone back and nodded towards Rebekah and Kol. "Have they been filling your mind with things you shouldn't concern yourself with? Now is not the time to do things you are doing, Bella, we're the only ones who can protect you from the Volturi."

"No, sorry Edward, you're not," Bella shook her head as she thrust the phone back into his hands. "I want you to stay away from me, all of you. And you and I will talk tonight." When she walked away, Edward grabbed her arm tightly and pulled her to him. "Let me go," she told him as she looked at him. "I'm asking you once."

"And then what?" Edward smirked at her. "Break your knee, again?"

She growled as she stomped on his foot.

"Relax, Bella," Jasper said after some nudging from Alice and placed his hand on her shoulder. She had been so focused on Edward that she hadn't expected Jasper to touch her and calm her down. She had always wondered why he was able to manipulate her emotions like that. Maybe it was because his power, combined with the emotions, worked on a different level from what her body was shielding her from. They had been so careful with making decisions because of Alice, but she hadn't taken Jasper in account because she had considered him a good boy.

"Come along now," Edward said as he started to pull her with him. "It's time to end this nonsense and get back to normal. You're acting really _unbecoming_."

"No, please," she said with a whisper. "Let me go." She wasn't feeling angry anymore, in fact, she didn't think she was feeling anything at all and she had lost the will to fight. It was wrong. She knew it was wrong, but she couldn't fight Jasper.

Before she knew it, Jasper's hand was off of her and she was in Kol's arms with Rebekah pinning Edward against the nearest wall, waving Jasper's thumb in his face. "She asked you nicely. Many times. See this? Lay another finger on her and one of your siblings, or yourself, will lose more than just a thumb, got it, pup?"

When the other Cullens moved in to avoid further escalation or for an attack, Rebekah looked over her shoulder with a smirk and her vamp face on. "Oh, don't even try, porcelain dolls, you'll be next, no matter how the girl begs me not to hurt you."

She then focused back on Edward. "You're going to stay away from her, sparkles. She'll come by your house tonight to pick up her belongings and tell you where you stand."

Edward just looked at Rebekah with an amused smile on his face. "You'll lose. You don't know her as well as you think you do, she'll come round."

"I wouldn't bet on it. Now get your asses inside or do I have to throw you in?"

"Are you okay?" Kol asked Bella as she was visibly upset. He gently started to rub her back as he held her close.

"I did it," she said with a slight chuckle. "I did it and it was going fine until Jasper…"

"You did it and you were brilliant," Kol agreed. "I'm so proud of you."

"But Jasper…"

"Nope. Not hearing it, Cuddles, you were amazing. End of." When he had noticed she had stopped shaking, he let go of her and put an arm around her. "Let's go and learn something new, shall we?"

Bella had to admit, she liked the way she was positioned in class right now. She was in front of the class, which was stupid, but she had Kol next to her and Rebekah behind her. And on her other side was the door. She felt safe, she felt sane and for the first time in a long time, she felt she could really see this through; getting her revenge on Edward and then some. The small smirk that appeared on her face stayed for the rest of the day.

She decided to be a bit daring with dinner that night, only to congratulate herself a bit further by preparing the salmon Billy had left hanging on the door for them. She usually cooked something quick and easy for her and Charlie and had done so the last two days for the four of them. Gutting the salmon was messy and smelly work, but the meal would be cooked quickly. She decided to serve it with baked potato and some asparagus and all they had to do now was to wait for Charlie to come home while Rebekah had a light snack out of the fridge.

"I've never done high school," Kol said as he leaned against the kitchen counter and watched Bella work. "It's an unusual experience."

"How so?" Rebekah asked with a grin. "All those sweaty teenagers who think they're more important than others trying not to pay attention in class while pretending to pay attention in class, with all its little subcultures in the school… all ready to be played like violins."

"It's boring." Kol said, rolling his eyes. "I almost fell asleep during the classes. That Mrs. Goff is terrible at Spanish and English? Don't make me laugh. It's not English what they're teaching." He then looked at Bella. "You really suffer through this every single day? You'd better hope I don't claw my brains out of me ears from boredom."

"You'll get used to it," Bella smiled at him. "At least you're good at pretending to listen."

"It was fun to pop open buttons from random classmates, yes," He said with a nod. "Or open a drawer just as the teacher walked by…"

"Or heavily snoring during biology…"

"That wasn't me," Kol said innocently.

"Yes, it was," Rebekah laughed. "I would have done the same, really. I mean, there's only so much you can learn about the human anatomy from text books. It's much more entertaining to just grab a human and rip open the chest cavity and see what's going on. But seeing as this is your senior year, does that mean there'll be a dance at the end of it?"

Bella winced. She had been lucky to duck out of the spring dance this year because of her trip to New Orleans but she hated the dance. "Yes…"

"Oh, we need to go shopping then, little dove."

"We don't have to go."

"Oh, we are." Rebekah said, her face looking even more resolved than it had before. "Somehow I always miss the dance when I'm in high school."

Kol snorted as he saw how uneasy Bella was and how much his sister was already looking forward to it. "It will be fun. When's graduation?"

"Next month…" Bella said as she looked at the door. She could have sworn she heard Charlie's car park next to hers and he could come in any moment. When he did, he was busy talking on his phone about the recent killings in Seattle. She walked over to him to give him a hug and then set the table while Kol helped her while Rebekah hid the evidence of her snack.

"How was your first day at your new school, Kaleb?" Charlie said after he hung up and grabbed a beer from his own fridge. "It smells nice, Bells," he smiled at her and kissed the top of her head.

"It's smaller than what Bekah and I are used to, but I suppose that's better, too." Kol replied with one of his rehearsed lines.

Charlie hummed in response as he sat down at the table.

"How was your day, Charlie?" Bella asked as she sat down and was soon joined by Kol and Rebekah. "What's this about Seattle?"

"Oh, nothing. Just a couple of missing kids, we've been asked to keep an eye out," he said as he took a swig of his beer. "I have to stop by the garage tomorrow to get a dent out of my car though. It felt as if a boulder was thrown off the bridge right on top of the car but when I stopped all I could see was a dent and no boulder. Must be the weather playing tricks on the metal or something."

"Are you sure, Mr. Swan?" Rebekah asked concerned. "Do you think you were _targeted_ specifically, maybe?"

He snorted. "Don't be silly, we're in Forks, not some big city."

They continued the meal in silence and when Bella was clearing the table she spoke up again. "We're going over to Edward's for a bit. We won't be long."

"I would have thought he'd have come by this weekend." Charlie said with a nod. "You two are always together, joined at the hip."

"I'm trying to change that," Bella replied.

"Well then, let me worry about those dishes and you go over to Edward's."

Bella couldn't help but check out the damage to her father's car when they got outside and sighed. There was a butt shaped dent on top of the cabin. "Fucking Emmett," she muttered.

"How do you know?" Rebekah inquired as she looked at the dent. "I mean, it looks like an arse."

"Emmett has a thing for jumping on cars," Bella replied as she opened the door to her own car. "They're trying to scare me."

"Is it working?"

Bella huffed. What was she supposed to say to that? Yes? Yes, it scared her because they were going after Charlie. She also knew it was a scare tactic and that they probably wouldn't hurt him but the possibility was there. No, she wasn't scared because she had never felt more safe as than with Kol and Rebekah. And she felt guilty about it because Charlie - and Renée, in a way - always taught her to fight her own battles. She figured the rules were different seeing as her battle was against the supernatural.

The more she thought about what Emmett had done while driving towards the Cullen house, the angrier she got. His brother Edward still had to pay for killing Seth and in general, everyone else had to pay for being fucktards. Simple as that.

They had set up a plan while they were still in New Orleans where she and Kol were able to hide them all from Alice's sight and she knew that they had to stick to it. She had wanted the plan so she could get her own revenge on the Cullens instead of having Rebekah kill them all. At the moment, it was tempting to abandon the plan and let Rebekah have a go.

Carlisle was waiting for them at the house, arms crossed over his chest and he looked angry. The moment Bella stepped out of the car he stood in front of her. If she hadn't taken a step to close the door, he surely would have pinned her against the car. "What have you done, Bella?"

"Nothing?" Bella said confused. "I drove my friend's car?"

"You're upsetting the dynamic in this family, that's what you're doing. Get inside the house. Your friends can wait outside."

"I'm not going inside the house," Bella said stubbornly as she leaned against the car with her arms crossed over her chest. "Edward can come outside."

"Bella, don't do this," Carlisle said kindly as he put his hand on her shoulder.

She could feel a slight tug and sighed. "Edward can come outside," she repeated. "And please get your hand off of me."

Kol had rounded the car and stood close by while Rebekah just stared at Carlisle, waiting to snap off one of his limbs if he didn't comply with Bella's request. Kol felt proud of his girl for standing up for herself and then realized he had thought of Bella as his. He had entertained the idea but to be actually thinking it was something completely different.

"You're being difficult," Carlisle said as he removed his hand from her, probably prompted by Edward and Alice in his head. Bella had always hated that kind of telepathy. Or telepathy in general. She preferred it the way it was with her, with them not being able to get inside her head at all.

"Am I?" Bella looked up to him. "Edward. Outside. Now."


	7. The Penny Dropped

"Very well," Carlisle replied with a sigh. "I do hope you know what you're doing Bella, I do not like it when my children are being bullied." He turned on his heel and headed back inside.

"What a prick," Rebekah huffed as she walked around the car to stand on the other side of Bella. "And who in their right mind has a glass house? You'd think that with the amount they sparkle they'd live in a home without any windows."

"We're in the middle of a forest," Bella waved her hand around towards the trees before looking at Kol, who appeared to be worried. "What?"

"You do realize there's eight of them and only one of Rebekah, don't you?"

She caressed his arm with her fingers and bravely smiled at him. "They won't physically hurt me. If they wanted to, they would have done so already."

Rebekah huffed. "I'd like to see them try."

Bella rolled her eyes when she saw Edward walk out of the house with Jasper in tow and she could feel how Kol took a step closer to her, just to be safe.

"Bella," he greeted her with his soft, gentlemanly voice which he used on her most of the time and stopped a few steps away from her. "I hope you don't mind I brought Jasper out with me, to ensure everyone stays calm."

"There's no need for that, Edward," Bella said as she shook her head. "We're not here to hurt any of you."

"Speak for yourself," Rebekah muttered under her breath, making Jasper snap his focus to her. "Oh right, vampires," she smiled at him. "It's easy to forget."

"Why are they here?" Edward asked as he relaxed his stance and held out his hand for her to take, but she wouldn't give him that satisfaction. Bella could feel Jasper's influence on her and it made her angry. "We could have easily talked this out with just the two of us."

"No, we couldn't," she replied as she looked at him, pushing her hands into her pockets. "Because you would have just sweet-talked me back into that house."

"But Bella, that's where you belong, with us. With me."

"Do I?" Why did his begging and repetitiveness ever work on her? Had she been that desperate to have a stupid boyfriend? Well yes. Boyfriends were good. Demanding little shits like Edward weren't.

"Of course you do, we took care of you, made sure you got everything you needed, I don't see why it has to change."

"Do I get a say in the matter?"

Edward was quiet for a moment and then shook his head. "Oh, I see," he then let out a small chuckle as he pointed at Kol and Rebekah. "A couple of days with the Original vampires and their… human witch pet and you think you can defy me? Bella, this is not you. You're sick. Come inside, let Carlisle check you over."

Kol had been quiet up until that point but couldn't help but snort. "Have you even heard yourself talk, mate?"

"It's okay, Kaleb," Bella whispered and placed her hand back on his arm.

"No, it's not, Bella, and frankly, if I could, I would have hit him in the face."

Edward grinned at that before Rebekah took a step forward. When Edward noticed that, he almost jumped his step back. Chicken. "Hey now, let's all stay civil here," he said with his hands raised before addressing himself to Bella again. "They've poisoned your mind, Bella, this is not you."

"Maybe not, but I haven't been this clear-minded since before you and I started to date before I got sucked into your world."

"Haven't we given you everything you needed? Haven't we taken care of you? Protected you?"

"Out of whose interest, Edward? And why did I need protecting in the first place? You even had to protect me from him," she said as she nodded towards Jasper. "Because he still hasn't got his bloodlust under control and sees me as a snack."

"That's not true, Bella," Jasper said, visibly hurt. "You're not a snack."

"Sure she is," Rebekah said with a nod. "But that doesn't mean you have to eat her. Besides, it's pathetic that you're feeding on animals. I'd go bonkers if I had to do that. No wonder your bloodlust isn't under control."

"What do you want from me, Bella?" Edward said, his impatience clearly bubbling to the surface. "I've already given you-"

"What I want," Bella said as she took a step or two towards him, trying to hide the fact she was nervous. "Is my stuff I requested. What I want after that, is for you and your family to leave me and my loved ones alone. No more denting my dad's truck and certainly not killing any more wolves. Thanks to you, I am no longer welcome there."

"Then why are they right behind you?" Edward pointed to an area behind the car and from the foliage appeared three wolves. From what she could tell it was Jacob, because of the brown color. Paul, silver fur, and the huge black block of muscle was Sam next to him. All three of them with their teeth bared and growling as they circled around the car to stand next to Bella, Kol, and Rebekah.

Bella's bemusement only got interrupted by Kol and Rebekah, who were snickering at the horse-sized stuffed animal like looking wolves. "Those are your wolves?" Rebekah laughed.

Paul, who was closest to Rebekah, snarled at her.

"What are you doing here?" Bella said as she whacked Jacob on his big snout. He snorted in return. "I told you not to hurt him."

Before Bella knew it, the remaining wolves - Leah, Collin, Brady, and Jared - had come out of the shadows and had launched themselves on top of Jasper. Jasper desperately tried to fight them off but had difficulty to do so. Sam took a leap and stood between Edward and Jasper while Paul had joined the rest of the pack to hold Jasper down while they were ripping him apart.

"Stop!" Bella cried out and tried to walk towards them, but Jacob pushed her towards Kol, who tightly wrapped his arms around her and held her close. "No, let me go," she pleaded as she tried to see what was happening.

"Maybe it's best if you don't watch, Cuddles," Kol said quietly as he saw how Rebekah had gone over to Edward and held him tight so he couldn't help out Jasper. The wolves worked fast, he was impressed by that, as they tore Jasper apart limb from limb. It was interesting to hear how it sounded much like someone trying to grate metal like you grated cheese.

She covered her ears with her hands, the sound of Jasper being ripped apart shot right through her bones. How did the wolves get the jump on Jasper and Edward? Had she been the distraction? Bella was furious and worried they would truly kill Jasper and that sickened her. Part of her wished that nobody had to get hurt, but the wolves wanted their vengeance and two vampires out in the open were a prime target. She knew they wouldn't hurt Edward, wanting Bella to have her revenge too, but this was wrong. What if the wolves got hurt?

Rebekah had the biggest grin on her face as she held the struggling Edward back while keeping an eye on the house to see if the other vampires would come out, but it appeared that even they were afraid of a pack of wolves who were mauling their family member. Even the brown wolf - Kol suspected it was Jacob - was on the lookout.

The whole ordeal took less than a minute before the big muscular one howled and the wolves ran off with parts of Jasper in their mouths, leaving enough for the family to mourn as the venom seeped into the ground. Rebekah let go of Edward and in one swift movement, threw him across the yard into a tree as the family emerged from the house now the wolves were gone. "I suggest we leave," she said with a smile and got behind the wheel of the car while Kol took Bella with him on the back seat, still trying to make sure she didn't see the body on the ground.

It was painful for him to watch as Bella went into shutdown mode. She was clinging on to him while she quietly sobbed and he didn't quite understand why. Jasper was one of the people who had manipulated her, made sure she felt compliant and the toy wolves were retaliating for the death of one of their own, it was only justified that it happened. Maybe it shouldn't have happened in front of her, but what else did she expect? These particular vampires needed to be ripped to shreds and then set alight so they can't fix themselves. Was she upset because the wolves were indeed strong enough to help her or that they did it without warning? She needed to be able to do this herself later on, albeit with magic but was she really going to expect it'd be easy?

On the other hand, maybe her reaction was the right one. It wasn't as if it had been a clean kill, the wolves had been frantic, knowing they had to hurry up before anyone else had the chance to register what was going on. He killed a lot of people back when he was a vampire and didn't think any of it.

It all changed when he came back as a human, but the memories were still there and they didn't bother him. Why would it? It all happened in the past. In all honestly, he was glad the wolves took their revenge, it was well deserved and it meant that they didn't have to do all the work if the Cullens and the wolves would go to war.

However, he could see why Bella didn't want any harm to come to the wolves, as the brown one had shown, they did somewhat care for her and that made them an ally. It was certainly something to talk about.

When they got back to the house, Charlie had left them a note saying he had been called into work - again - and this was a good thing seeing as it would be difficult to explain the state Bella was in without Rebekah getting to Charlie first. Kol set Bella down on the sofa and wrapped a blanket around her as Rebekah was making them tea. He sat down next to her and put his arm around her. "I'm sorry," he said when Bella looked at him with puffy brown eyes.

"Oh don't feel sorry for the girl, Kol," Rebekah said as she was grabbing mugs from the cupboard. "You know as well as I do that she needed to see that."

"Rebekah…"

"What?" She snapped as she looked at him from the kitchen. "She's hellbent on taking revenge on her own, at least the wolves showed her what she has to do when the time comes."

"Yes, and we still have a long way to go before that, Bekah," Kol shot at her. "She still needs to get her magic under control too, and can't do that now, can we?"

"I understand why she wants revenge, hell, I want revenge for her but why can't I just do it? Why does she need to be the one to do it? I can do it swiftly and I can get rid of the bodies. No one will ever know."

"You know very well how it feels when the choice is being taken away from you," he replied. "We'll stick to the plan for now, there's still time."

Rebekah huffed as she placed the mugs on the table in front of her brother and the human girl. Seeing the wolves tear Jasper apart had been fascinating, thrilling, even, and she wanted to kill something herself. Mostly out of boredom and frustration that she wasn't allowed to do anything. She had thought it would be easier when they initially planned to drive up to Forks with Bella but found it hard not to go against her wishes.

"Are you two done?" Bella asked as she looked at the siblings. "I'm fine, I think. And you're both right."

"We are?" Kol blinked at her. "Both of us?"

"Yeah," she said with a nod as she reached for her mug of tea. "I have seen vampires being ripped apart by other vampires before. It's just that it was shocking to see the wolves doing it right in front of me. It wasn't as clean as when Laurent and James were being killed. I also find I no longer have to worry about them, they managed to surprise Jasper of all people. Even Edward didn't know what was coming and that's something seeing as he hears everyone's thoughts."

"Then what happened?" Rebekah demanded as she sat down in a chair, clutching her mug of tea. "You looked like you were not entirely there."

"I wasn't… I realized too late Jasper needed saving. That he had to be off limits to everyone," Bella said quietly as she hugged the blanket.

"Why? He was one of them. You should feel relieved." Rebekah said simply and shrugged. "Good riddance."

"Because I realized that Jasper was me. He used to be just like me and I could have been Jasper." She looked at the siblings and then decided to tell Jasper's story as he told her once, followed by the conclusion that Alice must have been grooming him, now that Bella knew who Alice was. "They promised him everything he wanted; a family, a mate, peace… they offered to help him with his bloodlust. They turned him into the person he was by showing him their way of affection, validated him, made sure he felt safe and all that shit."

"But Jasper isn't you, love," Kol said as he caressed her back with his fingertips. "You figured out that something was wrong, all on your own."

Bella hit him in the chest as she glared at him for a moment.

"Sorry, cuddles. Force of habit." He winked at her. "Continue."

"I know he isn't me but if you hadn't gone back with me, I would have gone back to him because I didn't have any other options. Jasper didn't have an option either as Alice offered him 'the only chance to survive'."

"I honestly don't care," Rebekah replied. "He made his choice, as did you. He became one of them and you did not. At least those wolves listened to you when you told Jacob to leave Edward to you."

"But that doesn't make it right," Bella muttered. "We could have at least given him a chance."

Rebekah snorted. "Darling, if you look deep enough all beings have their problems, their crucibles they need saving from. Do you intend to save all of them? Will you spare Edward at the last minute?"

"No, no of course not but…"

"Now that the wolves have taken their revenge on the Cullens, I expect a war between the two parties and that's good, let the wolves deal with most of them as well as they can." Rebekah then smiled. "Now, who do you think they'll go after next?"

"Alice," Bella replied after a moment of thinking. "Because she will be hellbent on revenge and she'll be looking into the future non-stop to see if she can get it."

"Yeah… well… I'd better secure the entire house instead of just your window, Bella. I know Jasper's death isn't your fault, but if she's anything like the Mary-Alice I knew…" he then smiled widely at Bella. "But, before the wolves interrupted, you were amazing. I'm proud of you."

"I have to admit, that was something alright," Rebekah acknowledged before she got up and brought her mug to the sink. "You were very brave. Now, I'm going to leave the two of you alone and I'm going to take care of something, don't wait up," she said with a smile before running out of the door.

"Where is she going?"

"I don't know, Cuddles, but I'd better get started on protecting this house from unwanted vampires," Kol replied as he got up himself. "Drink your tea, you'll feel better after."

With Rebekah not being home when they went to bed, Bella decided to sleep in her old room again and shared the bed with Kol. Not that Rebekah not being there was an excuse. The last couple of days she had gone to bed, as planned, figured she couldn't sleep after three hours and had made her way downstairs to Kol, crawled into bed and fell fast asleep. She felt a little bit stupid about it because anything could happen - and maybe Bella wanted something to happen - but Kol wasn't an ordinary teenager and nothing happened.

Frustrating, maybe, but they hadn't even kissed yet. Or they weren't actually a couple and that was a good thing, wasn't it? She even hated it to admit it to herself that Kol made her feel safe, happy and wanted, not as if she was something else other than herself, like Edward had made her feel after he wanted her back after dumping her in the woods. It was possible it was because Kol made her make her own choices, her decisions and was hands off, yet he was with her all the time.

They both woke up around 5.30 in the morning because someone was yelling outside the house underneath the window. It took Bella a moment to recognize the voice as Rebekah's. "Bloody hell, Kol! You tosspot! I can't get in! If I get my hands on you, I will kill you! Wake up you bloody wanker and let me in!"

Kol sleepily grinned as he poked Bella in her side. "You'd better go and invite her back in, Cuddles," he muttered. "I may have accidentally revoked her privileges."

"You're mean," Bella whined as she rolled over and instead of rolling towards Kol to push him out of bed, she fell off the bed. "Ow," she said as she hit the deck and got up, rubbing her elbows as she walked towards the window.

"Are you alright?" Kol laughed as he was sitting up in the bed.

"Yes," Bella said and opened the window. "Your brother is an asshole," she said as she looked out of the window into the darkness. "Are you coming in, Rebekah?"

"Thank you!" Rebekah said thankful and before Bella knew it, she had gone through the door and stopped right in the middle of the bedroom. Her clothes looked somewhat torn and there was some blood on Rebekah's face, but the smile she was currently wearing was freaky. Almost maniacal.

"Where the bloody hell have you been?" Kol said as he got out of bed. "You look properly disheveled, sister."

"I took care of Charlie's problem with the missing children," Rebekah said with a shrug. "I went all the way to Seattle and found those missing children."

"Oh, that's great!" Bella smiled widely.

"Depends if them having been turned into Cold Ones is great… sure," she replied. "Took care of this redhead and her second in command, the blaze was delightful!"

"Wait, what?" Bella blinked. "Redhead?"

"Yeah, she sneered something about nobody could kill her because she was the almighty Victoria and whatnot…"

"You killed Victoria?"

"Yes, you know her?"

Bella hugged Rebekah as a huge relief fell off her shoulders. "Thank you! I thought for sure that she was coming after me."

"She was, actually," Rebekah gently pushed Bella away from her. "I'm smelly, Bella, don't hug me. Anyway, I sent her newborn vampires merrily on their way to create mayhem throughout America. Should keep those Volturi quite busy over the next few months and may leave you alone for a while longer."

"Rebekah… I…"

"I know, little dove, I know, and you're welcome. I'm going to take a shower, get a few hours of sleep and then we're going to school, yeah?"

Bella nodded. "We have a free first period."

"Brilliant. Good night you two," she smiled before disappearing from the bedroom.

Bella watched Rebekah disappear and then looked at Kol. "What just happened?"

"She's in her happy place, Cuddles, let's go back to bed," Kol said as he took her hand and pulled her back to the bed. "Who was Victoria?"

Bella sighed as she climbed back in bed and snuggled up against Kol. She was surprised he wasn't making a big deal out of it. He didn't have a bed to his own and hers was perfectly fine up in the attic with Rebekah. Maybe she was getting too comfortable around him, but if he didn't appreciate that, she knew he would say something about it as he wasn't afraid to speak his mind. "The last remaining nomad of James' coven, she was James' mate."

He smiled as he pulled the covers over them and put his arm around her to invite her to snuggle up even further. Bella was a funny little human, she didn't seem to be remotely uncomfortable to sleep with him in one bed. He was grateful, though, that in the morning she left to get dressed without him being present because he wasn't quite sure if he could control his bodily functions if she undressed herself in front of him. Bella had this magical thing about her that made his thoughts sound like a cheesy lunatic. - What was he getting himself into? "What is it with you and attracting so much trouble?"

"I don't know," she smiled up at him. "Guess I hang out with the wrong crowd."


	8. Times Change

Bella wasn't surprised by the lack of Cullens the next day in school. Or the next and the day after. In fact, the entire week had been Cullen free. For the first time in a while it gave her the room to breathe and do fun things with Rebekah and Kol after school. They went hiking in the Olympic Park and visit the Marymere Falls or go to the ice cream shop to gorge on ice cream and exit the shop with a brain freeze.

Bella found that Rebekah was often strolling behind her and Kol, and she wondered why that was. Even the slightest hint of Bella trying to include Rebekah in her and Kol's conversation was being deflected by her. Bella hated it that Rebekah was acting like the third wheel because she was trying not to make her feel that way.

It was Friday afternoon and Kol and Bella were sitting in the outside seating area of the coffee shop. Rebekah had ducked into a clothing shop across the street, saying that she had resisted the temptation long enough and that she was going to shop until she figuratively dropped. Bella and Kol weren't interested in doing so and decided to wait outside with a nice cup of coffee.

"Is it just me or does this feel like we're a mum and dad? Waiting for their daughter to emerge from school?" Kol pointed at the shop his sister was in.

"I wouldn't know," Bella replied with a shrug. "My mom always dragged me into stores because I hate shopping for clothes and Charlie usually just gives me money while he goes fishing."

Kol winced at that. "He wants to go fishing tomorrow."

"I know," she grinned as she looked at him. "It'll be fun. Rebekah wants us to go shopping for the graduation party anyway, which would be no fun for you."

"But I don't want you to suffer all by yourself."

"Fishing with Charlie is fun and maybe Billy will come with. Billy's full of stories about his tribe could be interesting for you."

Kol huffed and took a sip of his hot coffee. He'd rather just spend the day with Bella, couldn't his sister go on that fishing trip? Rebekah used to be better at it than him anyway, he could never sit still long enough. Should he scare the fish away, Charlie would have a great story to tell Bella. And maybe, Charlie could tell Kol more about Bella as she was still a mystery to him. Mysteries needed to be solved.

It would be stupid to admit out loud that even though they had spent about two weeks together, that it felt as if he'd known her for years. Because it wasn't true and he wished it was.

"Can I ask you something?"

Kol could see that Bella was uncomfortable and now he wondered what he wanted to ask. "Sure, Cuddles, you can always ask me anything. If I'm going to answer it is something else entirely."

"You're such a troll," she grinned. "I don't think like this anymore but for a while, with Edward, I wanted to become a vampire. Mainly because I wouldn't be able to stand to grow old while he didn't. I figured it would also cure me of my clumsiness. I then realized I didn't want to turn into an asshole. Maybe only to kill him," she said while a faint smile formed on her face. "But you've been a vampire. Don't you ever miss it?"

"I've traveled the world and I've enjoyed myself. I've seen things that you wouldn't believe and I had the time to do what I wanted, when I wanted," he said, careful with his choice of words. "But with everything positive there's a lot of negative. You don't get to think about that when you're a vampire because nothing matters. Every emotion gets heightened. The fact that I never felt wanted by my siblings hurt, a lot, and I acted out. I slaughtered a lot of people simply because I was bored. I was a nuisance, to be honest with you. I didn't care about what I did because my siblings didn't care about me. I turned off my humanity and had fun. I played with my food. Didn't care about rules…"

"Nothing's changed then," Bella said with a grin. "You still play with your food."

"My sister wants to be human more than anything. She values humanity and she wants to start a family and grow old. A couple of years ago, some idiotic people down in Mystic Falls found out that there was a cure for vampirism. This jump started this whole rat race between different factions. Klaus wanted the cure so that it couldn't be used on him. Rebekah wanted it because she wanted to be human and some young vampires wanted it for one of their mates who had been accidentally turned. It was a mess of epic proportions. And then there was me, trying to sabotage all their efforts because by finding the cure, they would find the first immortal being ever. And he would bring hell on earth if they'd wake him."

"Seriously?"

"Not just humans do stupid things for the weirdest reasons, Cuddles. And frankly, I don't blame them but hell on earth was just a too big of a price to pay for the cure. And it could only cure one vampire so yeah, not good."

"What happened?"

"I was the idiot who went against everyone, I died, of course. I truly died. Stake and flames. Poof! I ended up on the Other Side where I plotted my revenge against the person who killed me…"

"What?" Bella said laughing.

"Hey, I liked my life. I hated it, but I liked it, what else was I supposed to do? We Mikaelsons are a vengeful bunch because there's nothing better than revenge. Besides, I was pissed off because I got killed by a pesky teenager, do you have any idea what that does to the ego of a thousand year old vampire?"

"Typical," she shook her head, laughing. "What's the Other Side? Heaven?"

"No, more like a hell for supernatural beings who died. It sucked. And because Silas was back, it was collapsing. Well, it was a lot more complicated than that, but he set it off. And I didn't want to disappear for good. I was lucky that my mother yanked me out before I got sucked into nothingness."

"But now you're human. You could turn back into a vampire."

"Not like the one I used to be, pet. I was an Original, I couldn't be killed… well, not without effort. If I become a vampire now, I will lose my witchiness - again - and people could kill me with ease. I value my life too much for that to happen. Klaus' temperament hasn't really changed in all these years and I don't want to die. I also think that Beks would be the first person to kill me for giving up my humanity so…" he said with a chuckle. "Trust me, your decision to not turn into a glittery vampire after all is a good one. You and I wouldn't have been sitting here and talking, for one."

Bella shuddered. No, she would still be with them, meek as a lamb and waiting for Edward to turn her. She could understand where Kol was coming from, it was one of the things she had considered if she'd turn; what if she and Edward would have a falling out in a hundred years? What would she do? How would her transition enhance all her emotions? She knew she currently held an unhealthy amount of rage in her system, would that have turned with her? And would it have been possible for her to go off the reservation sort to speak? Quite likely.

Besides, she didn't want to live too long in a world without her parents. Everything had to progress in a natural order and while she had accepted the world around her, being a vampire wasn't natural. Or maybe it was for them. It wasn't for her and, therefore, shouldn't judge.

"And also, your clumsiness is endearing, Cuddles, gives men like me to be the hero to come to your rescue," Kol grinned. "And I'm generally awesome so it will balance out your habit of falling over and bumping into things."

"For now, all is well in the world." Bella drank the remaining coffee and scrunched her nose. "Did you just honestly say that you're my hero without missing a beat?"

"Glad you think so too, Bella," Kol beamed at her.

"I didn't say..."

"Cuddles, all I hear is you saying I'm your hero."

"But..." Bella's cheeks had lit up to a wonderful shade of red, and not for the first time in the past week. Without the Cullens showing their faces she was a lot freer in the way she behaved, a lot happier and a lot more easy to tease.

"It's okay, I can take the responsibility that comes with being your hero and bedwarmer."

"You're sleeping with him?" Edward's voice sounded from behind them and he didn't sound too pleased. "Are you out of your mind?!"

Before she knew it, Kol got lifted out of his chair and pushed against the wall. "Edward!" she cried out. "Leave him alone!"

"It's okay, Cuddles," Kol grinned as he looked at Edward. He then started to think about the most vulgar and exciting things he could do with Bella just to piss off the vampire even further. Kol knew that with one shout, his sister would come to the rescue anyway if his magic couldn't do the job by itself.

"I'm going to kill you," Edward growled as he tightened his grip on the human boy. "Maybe I will, to stop you from poisoning Bella's mind. You've corrupted her enough as it is."

"Oh please stop," Kol snorted as he managed to push the vampire off of him and made sure he was standing between Bella and the raging vampire. "You're a pathetic excuse for a man. Get it through your thick skull that she doesn't want to be yours anymore, mate."

"She has no say in the matter," Edward spat at Kol, unable to move from his spot. Kol was glad that at least that part of his magic worked too, although he was unsure if it'd work on more than one raging Cold One. "The Volturi will come after her if she doesn't stay with me. If I don't turn her."

"That excuse is becoming old, mate," He replied with a sigh. "You're trying to tell her these horror stories, that she should be afraid. Won't work, she's fearless and you are not getting her back. She doesn't want you, Edward. She's had enough of your shit."

"She's right here and can talk for herself," Bella grumbled.

"I know, pet," Kol replied as he took a quick look at her before turning his attention back to Edward. "I'm not quite sure if Edward knows, though. Leave her alone, mate, you're starting to sound really desperate right now, but that's your thing, isn't it?"

Edward looked around Kol, Kaleb, to look at Bella. "You do know that the reason Seth and Jasper are dead is because of your new friends, don't you, Bella?"

"Oh, that's low," Kol inhaled sharply as a fed up Bella got to her feet and pushed Edward away from them.

"It's your fault, Edward. Get the fuck out of my life."

"Don't worry, when he's done with you, I'll be still here to pick up the pieces, love," Edward said as he took a step back.

Bella visibly shuddered as she closed her eyes to will herself not to throw up the coffee she just had. "Go away."

"Did you know he has impure thoughts about you?"

"I give up," Bella said as she threw her hands in the air and collected her bag before she tugged on Kol's arm. "Come on, let's join Rebekah. The idea of shopping is all of a sudden very appealing."

"Honestly, I don't have those thoughts about you," Kol said quickly as they crossed the street. "I just… I knew he was mind raping me so I-"

"I don't mind if you do, to be honest," Bella admitted as they stopped in front of the store and looked across the street where Edward was still watching them. "Because I have them too," she smiled up to Kol. "About you, not about myself because that would be crazy," she added as she stammered.

Her face turned the beautiful shade of red that he liked so much on her and decided to tease her a little bit. It was endearing how novice she was about the whole flirting game, had she even been kissed before? "Really?" Kol smirked as he ran his hand through his hair as if he was thinking about something - which he wasn't. "Because I do have some thoughts about you and me. I'm a handsome fella and you're not too bad looking either and some thoughts include you and me... On a rug in front of-" Kol couldn't even finish his sentence as Bella had pulled him down to her level and had pressed her lips against his. All he was able to do after she released him from her grasp was blink at her. She had surprised him by her boldness and he wanted more.

It only took him a moment to realize that she probably kissed him because of Edward. He didn't even dare to look across the street, but did it anyway, and saw that the wanker had gone. Kol could feel how Bella cupped his chin and turned his head back towards hers, so she could kiss him again. This time, her tongue sought entrance to his mouth and he granted it as he put his arms around her and pulled her closer.

"Oh, good," Rebekah's voice sounded next to them. "You're finally kissing. Well done, you two. Let's go home."

Instead of things being immediately awkward between her and Kol, Bella found that nothing was wrong. Kol had the goofiest smile plastered on his face as they drove home. Bella couldn't help but look at him in the rearview mirror whenever it was possible. He probably thought she only kissed him to get rid of Edward, but that wasn't the case. Yes, it helped that Edward ran away like the spoiled brat that he was, but she did it because it felt right. That and Kol had it coming.

She grinned to herself as she parked her car in her usual spot. Sometimes, Kol just talked too much and she had now found a great way to shut him up.

"We are going to Port Angeles to shop tomorrow, aren't we, Bella? Because I didn't see anything I fancied in the shops here in Forks," Rebekah said as she pulled five bags out of the trunk of the car. "Not for the graduation dance anyway."

"Yes, Rebekah, when Charlie and Kol are going fishing, we're going to drive to Port Angeles and I'll be your personal dress up doll."

"Goodie," Rebekah said with a grin on her face and then got into the house. "Great job on handling Doucheward!"

"She is right," Kol echoed Rebekah's sentiment as he and Bella walked towards the house. In true Bella fashion, she had denied him the courtesy of carrying in the bag of groceries. "Was it just me or did he become worse?"

"He hates losing. When he loses, he tries to be more persistent," Bella said with a shrug as she put the bag of groceries on the counter. "Persuasion was always Jasper's thing. Or Carlisle's… Edward isn't that subtle." She smirked as she unpacked the bag. "All hands on deck, I need a lot of stuff chopped up."

"What?" Kol blinked at her.

"You two are going to help me cook."

"No, I am not," Rebekah said as she gathered her bags again. "I'm going to try all of these on again," she said before disappearing up the stairs.

Kol was leaning against the table with his hands crossed over his chest as he looked at Bella. "One kiss and you want to domesticate me?" He asked jokingly.

"Two kisses and no. This was my idea before that," she replied as she put down a chopping board and a knife. "Start chopping."

"You just want me to do the onions so you can see me cry," he chuckled as he washed his hands and grabbed an onion.

"No," she smiled as she cut up the meat. "I just don't want to do all the work by myself. And you'll have to do smaller chunks than that."

Kol snorted and shook his head as he did as he was told. After two onions, a carrot, and a pepper, he put the knife down and leaned against the counter to watch Bella work. "About that kiss…"

Oh god, she thought as she dropped the knife in the sink and looked at Kol, panic clearly on her face. "I- I'm sorry… I thought… I mean… you…" she stammered. She had thought of not doing it, but he had been sending her the signals, hadn't he? And he had the goofiest smile ever on his face on the drive back so it couldn't have been that bad, could it? What if that had been a pretense?

"Bella, stop," Kol said as he put his hands firmly on her shaking shoulders. "Nothing's wrong, Cuddles, breathe."

She had been doing so well and now she was freaking out because of a potential mistake she had made. Bella was angry with herself for freaking out about the panic attack. She was being stupid. It's that she thought she heard Kol telling her to breathe, otherwise she wouldn't have let out a breath she wasn't aware of she was holding and gulped in some air. And her body only went into panic mode for one simple reason; she really liked him. If that kiss had been out of bounds, things would grow uncomfortable and she didn't want that to happen.

"Hey, are you listening to me?" He bent his knees a little to look at her. "Nothing's wrong. That kiss was amazing."

Why were his hands on her? She shrugged them off and started pacing around the kitchen. How on earth was she going to get out of this? Would he stop trying to help her with Edward? Did she have to go back? No, that couldn't happen, she'd rather disappear before that would happen. She had been doing so well and now she'd fucked up.

She was forgetting something. Right, breathing. She kept pacing as she took deep breaths. Maybe Kol was right, they had to talk about that kiss. He needed to tell her that it had been a bad thing to do, that he wasn't into her like that. Yes, she needed to hear him say that so she could prepare herself for the worst.

Bella managed to calm herself down as she dried off her tears with the sleeve of her shirt and stopped right in front of him. Poor Kol looked like someone who was about to jump out of its skin out of anger. Or was it worry? She knew she'd find out soon enough. "Sorry. I'm sorry about that," she said as she let out a deep breath. "I'm sorry for the kiss. It shouldn't have happened. I-"

Kol kissed her to prove a point and to shut her up. He ran a hand through her hair before breaking off the kiss. "As I said… nothing's wrong, Cuddles," he said with a whisper and planted a kiss on top of her head. "But we do need to talk about it. Well, I wouldn't mind if we didn't and just carried on. But we need to talk about it, because of you and your relationship you've recently ended."

Bella looked at him for a moment and then hopped onto a clean spot on the counter. It had been a while since she had gotten a panic attack like that one. Well, not really. This was a good one, because it was out of fear of losing hope, opposed to the fear of losing everyone she held dear after Kol had wrecked her phone. She felt drained, but since he said that nothing was wrong, she decided to listen. Maybe he just wanted to say that she was a stupid teenager. Maybe it was an age thing.

"Did you kiss me because you like kissing or do you want more out of it?" Kol asked as he placed his hands on her thighs and made sure she couldn't walk away from him this time. Maybe it was silly of him to ask questions about a stupid kiss, but he happened to like Bella and he didn't want to prance around on her feelings and emotions. Which was why he was forcing her to talk about her feelings. And forcing himself too - his brothers would probably laugh at him for doing this.

She was a lot stronger than last week, yes, but she was still damaged and he knew that it would take some time for her to heal. He was a witch, sure, but broken spirits could not be mended by magic. He also didn't want her to do anything before she was well and ready. But if she'd wanted more out of that simple kiss, he'd make sure that she'd get it too.

He was human now and he had made peace with his shortened life but, he didn't want to rush Bella into anything. He didn't care much for himself, she was more important and deep down, that scared him. He was always number one. He had always been number one and now she was. "I know what I want, but I want to know what you want before I am telling you what I want. Because you should be allowed to have your own thoughts on the matter."

Bella swallowed hard. Kol was close to her and was keeping her from walking away again. He also didn't prompt her on how to answer the question which was hard, because Edward always had prompted her and she would say whatever he wanted to hear. But Kol didn't. He really wanted her to answer truthfully. "Do you promise things won't change for the worst if I answer that?" She asked, almost scared to ask.

"I promise. Things can only get better from here on out because we'll both have a sense of what's going on. I want to hear your thoughts, Cuddles."

Bella bit her lip and nodded. "I really like you, Kol and I really liked kissing you. And I don't want things to get complicated now because you make me feel safe. You seem to see me as a person and not like something that needs to be owned..."

Kol smiled at her as he gave her thighs a squeeze. "That wasn't so hard, was it? And I'm still here!" When Bella let out a slight chuckle, he continued. "I like you too and that kiss... I wasn't sure you had it in you," he grinned. "How about we continue with what we've been doing since we met two weeks ago? We'll just add the kissing to the list of things we like to do together. We'll see how it works out once you're truly a free person before we start putting a label on whatever's going on between us? Let things naturally evolve and all that."

"You sure?"

"Of course I am, Cuddles!" He smiled widely at her. "Otherwise I wouldn't suggest it, now, would I?" He poured her a glass of water and handed it to her. "Drink up and tell me what to do. You're not going to cook after that panic attack of yours."


	9. Petite Sœur

A huge THANK YOU to Jasper'sGoddessofWar (she's on here as well, go read her stuff!) who helped me decide between two versions of a scene I wrote in this chapter.

* * *

It had surprised Bella that things between her and Kol hadn't changed simply because they kissed. She had been afraid of that, seeing as Edward became possessive after their first kiss and Kol was unpredictable according to his siblings. Bella didn't see it that way, Kol liked to keep everyone on their toes and he tried to be the best person he could be.

She had felt him slipping out of bed when it was still dark outside and she had to admit, him going on a fishing trip with Charlie was amazing. Not so much that she had to miss Kol's company but because it showed how much Charlie wanted to care. There was no doubt Charlie - and maybe Billy too if he came long - would interrogate Kol and he would pass with flying colors.

Rebekah waltzed into the bedroom a few hours after Charlie and Kol had left and removed Bella's sheets before opening the curtains and tugging on Bella's foot. "Rise and shine, little dove, we're going shopping and if there's still time left, we're going to pamper ourselves at the spa."

Bella groaned at that as she practically rolled out of bed.

"And maybe we should get you some new sleep attire too..."

"There's nothing wrong with a pair of boxers and a shirt," Bella said with a yawn as she motioned for Rebekah to leave the room so she could get dressed. It took her half an hour to get dressed and down a cup of coffee to be completely awake while Rebekah impatiently walked through the house. The moment she put her cup down, Rebekah pulled her out of the door and stuffed her in the car before driving off towards Port Angeles.

"We have a lot to do in a short period of time. You are going to wear a dress because you are graduating and you're a lady," Rebekah said as she sped out of Forks. Bella quietly told herself Rebekah was lucky that the local cops didn't like to do speed traps. "While we're on the subject of ladies… what are your intentions with my brother?"

"What do you mean, my intentions?" Bella said confused.

"As much as I despise my brother on occasion due to his habit of going up against me and my other brothers, he is my brother. Even now when he's stuck in this body until he grows old and dies. I do not wish to see him hurt for the short period of life he still has left."

Bella frowned at that. "Short? Humans have an average lifespan of 80 plus years, your brother still has a long way to go."

Rebekah smiled at that before continuing. "My brother is over a thousand years old, love," she said. "Granted, he spent most of those years boxed up… Elijah told me about your spat with him about this. The thing was, it was easier to box Kol up than Niklaus, regular daggers don't work on him."

"Nope, still not liking that," Bella shook her head. "I get it that he's a thousand years old and 80 years seems like nothing, but trust me, it's a lot when you have to do everything at normal speed," she defended herself. "And I do not plan on hurting him, Rebekah. I'm more worried he'll end up losing interest and hurt me." It was out before Bella realized it was.

A faint smile appeared on Rebekah's lips as if she was thinking of something. "You have nothing to be afraid of, Bella," she said quietly. "He's different with you. He's likable, he's careful. Maybe he did get a false start the second time he was human and now that he's on his third… I think he's decided he needed a change."

"Third?" Bella blinked.

"He didn't tell you, did he? That he died because our other brother Finn had hexed him and there was no turning back while he was still alive?"

She shook her head.

"It was terrifying when he died. And sad, really sad. Mostly because Niklaus finally accepted Kol as one of us, a part of the terrible threesome… Always and Forever, is our thing. Kol said he wasn't afraid, he smiled, but…" Rebekah sighed as she kept her eyes fixed on the road. "I've lost a lot of loved ones over the last thousand years, but none hit me harder than Kol's passing... Davina, the witch he was involved with, was beside herself. She even caused a scene during Kol's consecration and burial…"

"I'm sorry, Rebekah," Bella said, not really being able to relate. Yes, she missed Seth, but to lose a relative that was so close to you was something else entirely.

"While Kol was dying, Davina tried to stop the hex or stop Kol from dying. And she failed. Which is not her fault, we didn't blame her. Davina couldn't bring him back or stop the hex as Finn was still alive back then. Bastard had a habit of jumping into other bodies when feeling threatened, just like our darling mother."

"He told me about her."

"Right piece of work she was. Every few years or so she manages to slip back into the land of the living to make our lives hell, wanting to correct the wrong she did by making us immortal. She's right, of course, we haven't exactly been angels and we have been living for a long time but…" Rebekah slightly shrugged. "Kol had put me into another body as a prank while we were trying to take on Mother for the last time and he always promised to put me back. After he died, I lost hope, but if I have to be honest, I didn't mind being mortal again because it was an opportunity for me to finally have the life I'd always wanted."

"But you're back to being immortal now."

"Oh yes," Rebekah said with a small smile. "You see, Davina and I turned Kol's old lair upside down, surely he had kept notes of his run-ins with other covens across the globe and maybe he had the solution all along. At the same time, my brothers went after Finn as he had come back to New Orleans. We even turned to a witch in Mystic Falls, her ancestry is as long and old as the witches of the French Quarter. She warned Davina and I that magic requires balance and that she had learned the hard way not to interfere with death. Dead is dead…"

"I kinda understand that…"

"Yes, so do I, but Kol didn't deserve to die. He didn't deserve to be hexed by his own brother. Davina and I wanted to bring him back at all costs. And after a while, we succeeded."

"How?"

Rebekah shrugged. "The details are quite foggy but the next thing I remember is waking up in my box, in my own body, with Kol fuming over me, berating me that I shouldn't have done this and that the ancestors eventually allowed him to return because not only me and Davina, but apparently Kol as well, were stubborn idiots. I paid the price by being returned to my own immortal body and Kol and Davina were punished by having their love for each other erased from existence. After he finished berating me, he left New Orleans for a few months, too angry and too distraught to face any of us."

"Wow."

"I suppose Kol is the one who paid the dearest; he eventually will die again. We offered to bite him, but he'd rather be human and I don't blame him. So this is why I asked you what your intentions were with my brother. Because he deserves to be happy and not suffer from heartbreak."

"Rebekah, I-"

"I know, little dove," she smiled at Bella before looking back to the road ahead of them. "There's no pressure, none at all. Right now, you make him happy and he has a good influence on you as well, so all is good."

Bella thought for a moment and then snorted. "It's that you're stronger than I am, Rebekah, and currently driving but otherwise I would have smacked you."

"Excuse me?"

"You want to give your brother the best human life experience ever. This means you can't interfere in his life."

"I'm not!"

"Yes, you are. You've just told his recent story to the girl who's kissed him and then tell her that if she breaks his heart that it will be bad news. I get it, you want to protect him and make sure he'll be alright but he's still young. I am still young. Anything could happen and if there's potential heartbreak, so be it, but for now, it's not my intention to break his heart because things seem to be moving in the right direction."

"But I …"

"I'm only eighteen years old, Rebekah. If you expect me to make the decision now to stay with your brother forever you're crazy and no better than the family of my former boyfriend. Things need to naturally evolve and that takes time."

"He doesn't have any time, Bella," Rebekah said as she slammed on the brakes while parking the car. "He only has this lifetime to make something of himself and it has to be perfect. He deserves it to be perfect! He deserves to grow old with someone he loves, have children, the whole dance that comes with mortality. Because he's the only one of us who can."

"Exactly," Bella pointed out. "Rebekah, haven't you noticed that in your whole thousand years that we mortals are fucked up beings but in the end, everything comes together as it should? Who knows, maybe Kol will get fed up with me and dates a string of girls after me. And when he's fifty, he can have his midlife crisis and have a girl half his age."

"Are you implying he's promiscuous?"

"I'm saying, he's human. And we humans are flawed. We're not perfect, but we try our hardest to make something out of life without interference from other people. Kol can have anyone he wants, he has a beautiful soul and your mother picked a great body for him to inhabit. You don't have to be afraid that he'll end up alone, he's got everything working for him," Bella replied with a calm tone of voice; she didn't want to anger the vampire even further. "And I told you, I understand you want to protect him, but humans are not as fragile as you think." She unbuckled her seatbelt and opened the car door. "You shouldn't worry about him, he'll be fine." Bella then got out of the car and shut the door.

"Are you done?" Rebekah asked as she had gotten out of the car herself.

"Are you?" Bella could tell Rebekah was still pissed, but Bella felt even worse and all of a sudden found this whole idea of them helping her to get free of Edward completely crazy. She scolded herself in silence, the time of being a victim was gone. She was a victim of the Cullens, but no longer. It was weird to realize that because she had always refused to see herself as a victim. She'd thought she willingly stayed with Edward. But she hadn't. She had done it out of fear. And she sure as hell wasn't going to allow Rebekah to make her a victim again. She was a survivor now, she could stop this before it even started. "You vampires are all the same," she muttered as she shoved her hands in her pocket after adjusting her backpack.

"Excuse me?"

"I totally get it," Bella said as she turned around to look at Rebekah. "You're older, you've seen more, you want to protect your brother, I get it. But the way you make it sound is as if you want to make me or Kol into a person we've yet to discover for ourselves. You make it sound as if you want to mold me into something I'm not."

"You're mean."

"Am I? Really?" Bella shot at her. "Kol and I only kissed. Yesterday. We have no idea where we're going to end up and we made a deal that we were going to see where it goes because he knows I'm not ready. Especially after just two weeks. You sounded like you want us to get married already and make each other happy, but newsflash, Rebekah, things like that don't happen in the real world."

"I just don't want to see his heart broken!"

"Yeah well, neither do I but we'll never know what will happen in the future, will we?" If it was possible, steam would have started to come out of her ears just like in the cartoons. "Just because you're in a rush to make his life perfect, have you even given it a thought that maybe it's better to back off and see what happens first? It's his life, not yours." When Rebekah just stared at her with her mouth open, Bella continued. "Look, I know you mean well, but please, allow him to find his own path in life. If he needs your help, he'll ask for it. Don't guilt trip me into a relationship with him because he's had a difficult time so far because that will make you like them. We all have baggage."

"But we've been so rotten towards him and…" There were tears in Rebekah's eyes and Bella felt sorry for her. Maybe she had been a little bit harsh, but she simply didn't want to end up being treated the same way as Rebekah and Kol tried to help her free herself from.

"I know, Rebekah," Bella said knowingly as she leaned on the car with a small smile on her face. "But life is too short to try to right the wrongs of the past. All you can do now is move forward and do better. Be his little sister, not his prison." The smile grew wider on Bella's face. "Be my big sister."

Rebekah let out a squeal of happiness as she rounded the car and hugged Bella tightly. "Let's go shopping, little sister," she smiled widely after she let go of her.

The thing Bella hated about shopping the most was the endless visits to the fitting rooms. She must have tried on several dresses before she felt comfortable in one Rebekah liked as well. She didn't quite understand why most girls seemed to like shopping; clothes had to be practical and last for a long time. The odds of wearing that dress more than once were astronomical and basically a waste of money but as Rebekah said; you only graduate once.

They didn't really have time to do anything else and when they arrived back home, Bella could tell Charlie had started the barbecue because of the smoke that rose from the back garden. "It looks like they've caught plenty of fish," Bella said as she got out of the car and took her bags. Rebekah had also told her to buy new underwear that looked less 'boyish' but were still extremely comfortable and Bella herself bought a few new tops and jeans.

"Oh, good, you're here," Kol said as he came running towards them, looking slightly panicked. "Charlie's friend opened the wrong fridge. He didn't say anything, probably because his son is a shifter but…"

"On it, brother," Rebekah said with a wide grin on her face. "Will you be so kind as to help us with getting our bags inside?"

"Of course," Kol replied as he grabbed the remaining bags from the car as his sister walked off. "Did you have fun?" he asked Bella.

"Is shopping fun?" Bella retorted with a snort. "It wasn't pure torture if that's what you mean. She got you a suit."

"What?" Kol whined as he followed her into the house. "Why?"

"Something about us girls dressing up and you'd look out of place," she flashed a smile at him as she set down the bags on the dining table. "How was your day?"

"Your dad grilled me about our family," Kol replied wincing. "And since the best lies are the ones close to the truth, I replied that our family is well-respected, well off and that I have a brother who tries to keep us all in check while another brother likes to break the rules after the death of our parents."

"That about sums it up," Bella laughed as she poured the both of them some juice. "Did you get to ask him what you wanted to ask him?" She had sort of suspected Kol would try to pry some stories out of her father and if she had to be honest, she didn't mind. He had gone fishing with her father and that made everything alright in her book.

"Cuddles!" he tried to sound shocked but there was this huge smile on his face so he was joking. "How dare you think such a thing of me?"

"Well?"

"Yes," Kol grinned. "He even showed me a picture of yours that he keeps on him."

"No!" Bella said horrified. "The one with pigtails?"

"Oh yes," A big smirk was plastered across his face as he took a sip of his drink. "Very adorable. You should definitely put your hair in pigtails when we go to school on Monday."

"No." Bella shook her head as she walked out of the door to the backyard. "Hi Billy," she greeted Jake's dad before giving her father a hug, holding him tightly as she did. "How dare you show him that picture."

Charlie gaped at her, surprised he was found out.

"He told me."

"I'm sorry," he replied with a smile on his face. "But that day was one of the best days ever."

"True and it's okay, just slightly embarrassing," she smiled at him and kissed him on the cheek before letting go of her father. "How was the fishing?"

"He caught most of it. Must be beginner's luck."

May wasn't the ideal time to put up the barbecue and grill some fish and meats, but Bella loved it. She could tell Billy was having a hard time being around Rebekah. She hadn't compelled him out of respect for him and she suspected he was good at keeping secrets himself. She merely explained that she wasn't here to hurt anyone he loved.

Much to Bella's surprise, Jacob arrived as well and he had a healthy appetite that Charlie couldn't help but commenting on. Bella wasn't much into any sport activity at all, but when Jacob and Kol teamed up against Rebekah and her to play soccer, there wasn't much that the girls could do but to accept and horribly lose. Not only did she really have to shape up a bit because her lungs and legs felt as if they were on fire, she also really had to do something about her falling over and tripping over her own feet while moving at a higher speed than normal. Or fall into other people. Fifteen minutes in, she fell on her ass and decided not to bother getting up.

"You know," Jacob said as he sat down next to her in the wet grass. "I prefer you like this. All human with a beating heart and some color on her face."

"I know," Bella chuckled as she playfully punched him in the shoulder. "You don't have to tell me nearly every time we see each other."

He grinned as he gave her a playful shove. "Are you going to beg Rebekah now to turn you into one of them?"

"No."

"One of her siblings then?"

"No."

"Okay, who are you and what have you done to Bella?"

"I'm still me," she chuckled as she elbowed him in the side. "I just… gained some much-needed perspective."

"Even if it means you're never going to get rid of your clumsiness?" Jake grinned, happy to hear that his friend finally got the idea out of her head to become a vampire. Just the sheer thought of her being one made the hairs on his body stand up.

"It's what makes me me, doesn't it?" she said with a shrug. "I can live with it."

"As long as you have someone around to catch you."

She sighed as she looked over to Kol for a moment before looking back at Jacob who had this huge smile on his face. "What? You and I won't work, you know that."

"Well, you've never given it a real chance anyway… it was always Edward this, Edward that. And now that you've dumped him…"

"Jake, no." she tried to interrupt him but he continued anyway.

"I'm sad you didn't choose me but I'm sort of glad you found someone else who makes you happy, even if it feels like it's moving too fast."

"How do you know?"

"Please. Us wolves have nothing else to do but to keep an eye on you and those Cold Ones, we see a lot of stuff."

"You're following me?" Bella didn't know whether to feel angry or relieved or surprised, even. "Jake!"

"Hey! Just because you have new friends doesn't mean we have to trust them, but we do. So instead of two wolves, we have one wolf on you when you're in Forks. But it's clear there's something between you and him. And for what it's worth, you deserve it. I may not like it, but you deserve it."

"Ugh. To hear you speak like this is so unlike you."

He snorted. "Look, Bells, you deserve to be happy. From what I've seen, he's a good guy and should you decide to move away to get to know him better, then you should go. We'll make sure Charlie's safe."

"I can't ask that of you…"

"Which is why I'm telling you, loca." He grinned. "Besides, we're all convinced that when you leave, they'll come with you and your dad will be safe anyway so…"

"Why?"

"Just a feeling," he said with a shrug. "So, you just do whatever your heart tells you to do and everything will be fine. Even if it's not what I want."

"You want me to leave?" Bella said after a moment of silence.

"No, but you have to do what you want. And I know that graduating is your short term want, and after that, we'll see. If you do whatever makes you happy, then I'm happy. Even if it involves you moving away and get in touch with a new side of you." Okay, so he was lying. He didn't want Bella to leave but making her stay would be bad, wouldn't it? It wouldn't make him a better person than Edward. No, if he gave her enough room to move, maybe she'd stay anyway.

Bella smiled as she hugged him. "You're the best best friend ever, Jake, thank you."

"That's me, forever stuck in the friend zone…"

Bella sighed as she got to her feet and walked over to Billy. She sat down next to him and looked around if Charlie was present, but he had gone for a moment. "Tell me about vampires again?"

Billy blinked at her. "Vampires are bad, Bella, you know that. They survive off of blood and have been known to slaughter entire civilizations. You shouldn't involve yourself with vampires. As I told you when you started to date the Cullen boy."

Bella smiled at him. "Thank you!"

"But Kaleb isn't a vampire," he pointed out with a smile on his face.

"Billy!" she whined as she threw her hands up in defense before burying her face in them, it was better to hide from the real world than to hear anyone else tell her what she didn't want to hear. On the other hand, however, it was great that at least Billy and Jake were accepting of Kol, although she had the feeling Jacob had something to hide. Bella knew she was going to figure it out eventually, and it would probably be as simple as Jacob not wanting her to leave Forks and stay with him.

And as much as she loved Jacob _as a friend_, what he wanted was not going to happen.


	10. Get Stoned

It was funny how the weeks leading up to her finals had flown by so quickly. It had been made easier by the Cullens dropping out of school - it wasn't as if they needed school anyway. They were probably up to something, but Bella didn't care. She was glad for the reprieve so she could focus on her studying although Kol had made it a challenge, to say the least.

Every day he'd think of something that threw a wrench in her self-made studying schedule. It usually started with him telling her that she studied too hard for her finals and that she didn't need that much studying as she was a bright cookie.

Rebekah had offered to teach Bella some sword fighting as distraction from her studies and the Cullens. She refused, afraid that they'd scare Charlie into a heart attack, so Kol came home one day with staves. He thought Rebekah had been on to something and Bella needed a way to learn how to defend herself at least a bit against other people if she'd be hanging around in New Orleans. That way, she wouldn't have to rely on her, currently still unstable, magic.

Bella was sporting a few new bruises, but she was surprised how quick she picked things up. Both Kol and Rebekah were great teachers and didn't mind her falling flat on her face every so often when she lost her footing again. As long as she didn't have to move her feet, she was pretty decent after only a few lessons.

A part of Bella was glad that Renée had canceled her trip to Forks as her new husband Phil was dealing with a broken leg, but another part of her was relieved. Even with the Cullens laying low, Bella found it still too dangerous for her mother to come over. She had to admit, she was missing her mother, but for now she was safer where she was, and her safety was more important than Bella missing her.

Despite all the distractions that the siblings provided, she had a good feeling about her finals and after her second day of finals, she took them to the ice cream parlor for a well-deserved treat. While Kol and Rebekah had found a seat outside, Bella was inside to order. She was in the middle of her order when someone bumped into her. Before she could register what was going on, she had been taken out of the ice cream shop and brought somewhere else by someone cold and strong as hell.

When she finally realized what had happened and who was to blame for this, it was too late. She got tossed into some place with a locked door, and Esme was standing in the corner with her arms crossed over each other.

"What the hell!" Bella breezed.

"Calm down, Bella," Esme said with a gentle tone of voice. "Please. I just want to talk."

"No, if you wanted to talk, you would have started a conversation at the ice cream shop." Bella looked around for something she could use to hit Esme with into letting her go, but the room was bare. She was not going to hit Esme with her hands because she had learned her lesson when she had kneed Edward in the groin. "What's wrong with you people?"

"I'm worried about you," Bella was wondering if Esme had ever been angry, the woman seemed to be incapable of doing that. "Do you have any idea what you're putting my family through? Haven't we always been kind to you? Are you on drugs?"

"Not this again," Bella was frustrated and started to pace around the room as if she was a caged animal. "You have to let me go, Esme."

"I am only trying to understand, Bella. You've been acting strangely after your trip to New Orleans. Jasper..." her voice was thick with sadness. "Was slaughtered right in front of you. You've been ignoring Edward, and you haven't come by the house."

"Why don't you people understand that I don't want anything from you? That I don't want Edward anymore? That I've finally come to my senses on how you've been treating me?"

Esme pursed her lips. "I see."

"Do you?"

"They've obviously brainwashed you or they cursed you while you were in New Orleans, unprotected by my children."

"Unbelievable…" Bella muttered to herself. "You're really not giving up, are you?"

"We care about you, Bella," Esme said quietly. "Maybe a few hours alone will do you some good."

The moment Esme opened the door was the moment Bella tried to make a run for it, but why was she even trying? The vampire was faster and stronger than her and with a simple push, Bella almost flew through the air and got knocked against the wall.

She must have passed out or something because when she came to, the light that had shimmered through the cracks in the wall had disappeared. There was no light in the room either, and that was freaking her out. Not being able to see your attacker was always a bad thing. Bella's head was throbbing, she felt thirsty and hungry, and it was cold. When she got to her feet, the world seemed a little bit wobbly but she managed to steady herself and made her way to the door and much to her dismay, it was still locked.

What else did she expect? Esme would go soft on her and regret taking her?

Bella then remembered she had her phone on her and hoped that she'd be able to get reception. She felt around her pockets and sighed when they were flat and empty. Of course, Esme had probably taken it from her while she was out cold.

Grumbling, she tried to find the wall and used it to guide her around the little room. Maybe she could find something to help her do something at least. She didn't freak out - who wouldn't freak out when taken away by a supernatural being you can't do anything against because of their tough skin? - Because she knew what she was up against. Esme wouldn't hurt her, at least not intentionally, as the Cullens wanted her back.

Instead of freaking out, however, Bella could feel herself becoming angry, and that wasn't a good idea either. While she knew that she wouldn't get hurt, it still wasn't a wise idea to poke the bear with a stick and hope it wouldn't lash out.

When she had made her way back to the door, finding nothing in her path to help her, she sighed. She made her way to the wall with the cracks to see where Esme had taken her, maybe if she could see something familiar in the darkness she could call for help or something. Vampires had super hearing, right? She knew that Jake had it, probably only in wolf form so maybe she could get lucky.

She was glad she didn't get her hopes up in seeing some light or anything she could identify in the darkness. It was almost as if she was in some bubble. She started calling out to Rebekah, Kol - Kaleb - and Jake but after a while, she found that it was leading her nowhere. Surely they were looking for her, right? At least Rebekah and Kol?

When the door opened, Bella nearly jumped ten feet in the air, she hadn't expected that. In walked Esme, carrying a gas lamp and she set it in the corner, but all Bella could do was to keep an eye on the woman. "Please let me go, Esme."

"I'm sorry, Bella, I can't do that," Esme said with a kind voice and retrieved a carefully wrapped plate of food out of her bag. She also produced two bottles of water which she set down next to the light.

"Sure you can. Just allow me to walk out that door."

Esme looked at her with a smile on her face. "You shouldn't yell as you did, Bella, it's bad for your voice. They won't be able to hear you. Nor find you, not even your witch friend can."

"What did you do?"

"Carlisle and I were well aware of Alice's true identity when we took her in even if she hadn't offered the information herself. We suspected she was on the run from someone or something, and it didn't matter to us. Alice has always been special. After Jasper's death… she went to retrieve a box with items from the past, saying that they contained magic for various ends. She placed two in this area; one to conceal and one to stop sound."

Bella felt the panic rise inside of her. What Esme was saying was that there was no way out for her. No one was going to be able to find her, end of. There was a little bit of hope that Rebekah would ask Jacob for help seeing as he had a well-developed sense of smell. She knew that Rebekah had a heightened sense but would that be enough?

"You must be familiar with Dark Objects, Bella, seeing as your witch friend planted them all over your house."

Bella huffed. "What do you want from me, Esme? Keep me as your human pet or are you going to turn me after all?"

"You and Edward are destined to be together and yes, eventually we will turn you. But not right now, you're too angry and as a newborn you could kill us all."

"We are not destined to be together! He's a controlling, manipulative asshole, and you're not better!"

"We'll see," Esme smiled at her. "Enjoy your late dinner and make sure you drink. I'll be back soon."

.

Bella couldn't help but watch as Esme closed and locked the door again. Once she was sure that Esme had left, she took a good look around now that the gaslamp was giving off some light to see. She was in some bunker, and the reason it was so cold was because it was half way tucked into Mount Olympic because that was the only bunker she could think of. Unless Esme had taken her to Canada. Bella sure hoped not.

"Just great," she muttered to herself and despite her being hungry, she didn't want to eat whatever was on that plate. However, she knew that she had to drink something. She sat down in front of the lamp and stared at the plate. The clingfilm couldn't hide the fact that it was one of Esme's infamous salads and Bella shuddered at the thought of having to eat that again. Grabbing one of the bottles, she could see that it had already been opened once, which was nice. At least Esme had thought about Bella's inability to open bottles from time to time.

The water was nice, it was probably going to cause her to have to go to the bathroom which was non-existent at the moment but she had to drink something. If she wanted to survive this, she had to drink. She didn't want to sleep that night and spent the night thinking about her future while making sure she didn't down the water in one go.

Was she really going to move to New Orleans? Sure, why not? It was a lot warmer than Forks; it was where her family originated, and she liked to find out more about that and the witch stuff, and most importantly, Kol was there. Maybe she was this stupid young girl who left one boyfriend for another in a short amount of time but wasn't that what she was supposed to do? Live and see where life would take her?

Kol was simply amazing; he made her discover sides of herself that she didn't know she had. He excited her and yes, he had a playful mean streak but that was mostly in jest. His pranks could be cruel, not towards Bella though, his sister always seemed to be on the receiving end of it, and she endured it. Bella wished she had Rebekah's confidence though, the girl didn't seem to be fettered by anything and simply marched on through.

When the sun seemed to come up, Bella couldn't resist not eating anymore. She was going to give herself a good talking to when this was all over. She was the worst kidnapee ever, but she hadn't eaten the whole day yesterday, nervous for her last day of finals and her stomach had started to make these stupid growling noises. The food was there for a reason; she had to eat it.

Esme's famous salads usually contained a few leaves of lettuce, a handful of wildflowers and a chopped up apple with some cheese. Bella wasn't surprised to find all that when she removed the cling film from the plate. She picked on the apple for a bit, rethinking her decision to eat something and decided that the apple and cheese would do as the lettuce and wildflowers had already started to wilt.

She settled against the wall so that the cracks could continue to bring in the cold air and keep her awake while she hoped that she was going to be out of her prison soon. By now, she realized that Charlie would be worried. Charlie would come looking for her. He'd mobilize the police force, and he'd come looking for her. No need for supernatural beings, he'd come. He had to. He was her dad.

She woke up with a jolt when she could feel her being pulled to her feet. "Esme."

"I'm here," Esme said kindly and caressed Bella's hair. "How are you feeling? Better?"

Bella nodded. She was a little bit sleepy, but Esme was here now. All was good.

"Good girl," she smiled as she handed her a new water bottle. "Drink this, it's time for you to come home. Would you like that?"

"Yeah, of course." Bella managed to smile at Esme before curiously looking at the bottle of water.

"We're not leaving until you've drunk the whole bottle."

"Okay," Bella said as she greedily started to drink the water. When she finished, she wiped off her mouth and proudly smiled at Esme. "Can I use the bathroom when we get home?"

"Of course, love," Esme lifted Bella in her arms. "Hold on to me, we're going home. Edward can't wait to see you again."

"Edward?" No, that wasn't right, was it?

"Yeah, we were all worried about you, sweetheart," Esme said as she carried Bella out of the room. "You caught something while you were away."

"I did?" Bella yawned as she settled her head against Esme's shoulder.

"You're not out of the woods yet but it's time to come home."

"Okay."

"Go to sleep, before you know it, you'll be home."

The cold air hit her like a truck and all of a sudden she felt as if she was drunk. Bella giggled as she tried to get out of Esme's arms, wanting to experience walking while drunk. Who knows, maybe she wouldn't fall over for once. Reverse psychology and all that. Or was that physicality? She doubted that her falling over would have had anything to do with Einstein… or was it Freud? Or both?

"I said, go to sleep," Esme made sure she didn't squish Bella but held on a little bit tighter.

"Maybe she doesn't want to, love."

"Kol!" Bella smiled widely and made use of Esme's surprise to roll out of her arms and to land safely on her feet. She then smiled proudly at Kol for not falling flat on her face.

"Bella, no," Esme said as she reached for the girl but she had already found her way into Kol's arms.

"Hi Cuddles," he smiled at her and held her tightly. The girl was out of it, just like Rosalie had told them she would be. It had all made sense, but that didn't mean that it was wrong. Rebekah had taken pleasure in ripping off Rosalie's head and burning the remains. He looked at Esme and managed to cast a spell to keep her in place. "Dark Objects, I'm impressed," he said with a nod. "I suppose Mary-Alice learned a trick or two."

"Give her back."

"See, I can't do that. She voluntarily came over to me, that means you have no say in the matter."

Esme smiled at that. "Go on, ask her."

Kol shrugged and looked down at Bella, who was clinging on to him with the biggest smile on her face. "You're in no shape to answer questions, are you, Cuddles?"

"I love it when you call me that," she said with a giggle.

He smiled at that and caressed her hair. "Would you rather stay with me or go home with Esme?"

"Esme said I had come down with something. She cured me."

"Bella, answer the question, sweetheart. Would you rather go home with your friend or me, Edward can't wait to see you," Esme tried. Kol registered that she sounded desperate. He had every faith that Bella, even in her drugged state, would make the right decision as she had made the decision to leave Edward while she was on a lower dose.

Bella huffed. "Kol, of course. If that's okay with you?"

"No, it's not okay."

"Of course it's okay," Kol said as he could see the confusion on Bella's face. "It's your choice, isn't it? She asked for it."

"Bella, it's not okay," Esme said sternly.

"Oh, of course it's okay," Rebekah said as she came from another side of the building. "I'm impressed, we were unable to find you, you had your remaining children keeping the wolves busy and blondie was keeping an eye on us. Did you know that she didn't even want Bella around? That she thought she was better off without you lot so she could live the life that Rosalie badly wanted for herself?"

When Esme didn't reply, Rebekah continued. "Of course you did. Any good mother would know their children's deepest secrets. After a little bit of persuasion, Rosalie was more than happy to tell us where you took Bella. Hurts, doesn't it? To be betrayed by the one you love?"

"I'm confused," Bella whispered to Kol. "Is it okay or not?"

"It's okay, Cuddles," he chuckled as he caressed her hair.

Bella giggled again. "Can we go home then? Esme cured me; I'm fine now."

Bella's eyes grew big as a big brown wolf rounded the building followed by several other wolves. "Puppies!"

The wolf snorted before looking at Esme and bared its teeth.

"Can I pet the puppy?"

"No, Cuddles, we're going home."

"But the puppy…" Bella pouted at Kol.

"You can pet the puppy later, come on, the car is close by."

Kol was glad that they had compelled Charlie to go and camp out on the reservation the moment they had realized that Bella was missing so that the house was empty, and Charlie was safe amongst the wolves. Bella slept on the way back in the car, but the second that Kol turned the engine off, she was awake again and getting out of the car. "Don't wander off, Cuddles, we're going inside."

"Okay," she said as she walked towards the front door and tried to open it. "It won't open."

"Pull, don't push," he said in a gentle tone as he had caught up with her and opened the door for her. Whatever they had given her - even Rosalie wasn't sure as it was something Carlisle had developed specifically for Bella - he hoped it was out of her system soon.

She had been missing for a couple of days, and she may not feel like it at the moment, but graduation was only in a day or two. Kol sinceriously hoped she'd be back to normal by then. "Get to the kitchen, Cuddles, it's time for some real food and some acidity in your stomach." He hoped that the drug would be something compared to Rohypnol. If she started to feel better by drinking orange or lemon juice, he could whip up a magical antidote for it.

Rosalie had also mentioned something about Bella being more susceptible to outside influences while on the drug, and he desperately hoped that Esme hadn't caused any long lasting damage. And as much as he wanted this to be over with - for her sake -, he knew it was a matter of simply waiting it out and look after her as well as he possibly could.

Bella sat down on a chair and watched as Kol pulled something out of the fridge and popped it into the microwave. "No salad?"

"Chicken. A whole roast chicken, just for you."

"For me?"

"Yes, and you're going to eat it once it's done." He watched her as she leaned on the table and rested her head on her arms with a smile on her face. It was so tempting to take advantage of her drugged state; to satisfy his need, to have her do things against her will. To interrogate her about her real feelings for him, to want to know everything there was to know about her. The old him would most definitely have done all the above, not caring about privacy. But Kol wanted Bella to stay Bella; a cute and vibrant little thing that his heart yearned for.

Bella drank the orange juice he set down in front of her and then realized something; she still had to go to the bathroom. "Can I be excused? I need to use the bathroom."

"You don't need to ask," Kol chuckled as he watched her get up from her chair. "Do you need help?"

"If you must."

"No."

"No," Bella quietly muttered to herself as she walked towards the bathroom. Upon her return, she eyed the whole chicken that was on the plate on the table. "That's too much, what about you?"

"I'm not hungry, Cuddles, it's all yours."

Bella giggled and cocked her head as she looked at Kol for a moment. "You're gorgeous."

"I know I'm very gorgeous thank you very much, look at this face, how perfect is it?" Kol grinned as he sat down in front of her. "And you're very beautiful yourself."

She giggled again and then started to pick on the meat of the chicken with her fingers before carefully started to eat. "Edward won't like it that I'm eating this entire chicken."

Kol groaned as he ran his hand through his hair. "You don't have to speak to him if you don't want to, Cuddles."

"But Esme said…"

"Esme could have said a lot of things, it doesn't bloody mean you have to agree with all of it."

"You're angry," Bella observed as she started licking her fingers as she looked at Kol.

Oh, she didn't just go there, he thought as he tried to look anywhere but at Bella. Even drugged up she managed to tease him so very much. The thought of those fingers touching him… He swallowed hard before pinching his leg underneath the table to distract him as he looked at her. "I am."

"What did I do? Can I fix it?"

"No, Bella," he smiled at her. "I'm angry at Esme."

"But why? She cured me, didn't she? She was nice, and she was taking care of me. She gave me water to drink and food… Esme missed me very much."

"Cuddles, we're not having this conversation right now. Eat your chicken." Kol said sternly as he felt the anger inside of him grow. He hoped that the wolves were true to their word and that they'd kill Esme for kidnapping Bella. It was bad enough that they'd probably have to start all over again when it came to her independence, although secretly he wished she'd snap back once the drugs were out of her system. He set down another glass of orange juice, but this time with a splash of lemon in it.

"I'm not thirsty."

"I don't care. Drink. It's good for you." He had told himself not to tell her what to do but he didn't have a choice right now. Was she like this when she was with the Cullens? They'd just boss her around, and she obliged without any major opposition? Figuring it was best not to engage in a conversation with her right now, he watched her eat and drink, and when she had eaten most of the chicken, Kol smiled at her. "Well done. Now, how about you take a shower and get changed into your PJ's, Cuddles? Settle in for a movie marathon with Rebekah?"

"And you?"

"Of course, someone has to take care of you girls," Kol said with a wide smirk and watched Bella as she took the stairs. The moment she was out of earshot, he grabbed his phone and called his sister, hoping that she wasn't on her way home just yet. He needed her to pick up a few ingredients at the nature store so that he could feed it to Bella to help her body get rid of the drugs.

Half an hour later, Bella walked down the stairs clutching her duvet and wearing her pajamas. "I feel like crap," she sulked as she plopped on the couch and snuggled under her duvet. "I threw up in the shower… sorry."

"That's okay, Cuddles," Kol said as he sat down next to her. "Glad you're feeling better."

"But I don't. I'm sick. Esme can help me."

"No," he said as he caressed her damp hair. "You'll be fine. Bright as rain tomorrow evening."

"How do you know?"

Kol shrugged. "It's what I hope, for your sake."

Bella snuggled up against him while still snuggled up in her duvet and closed her eyes. "Don't think I can stay awake for movies…"

"That's okay, Cuddles," he said softly and put his arm around her. "You're safe now, that's all that matters. Get some rest."

"I love you," she said with a yawn before instantly dozing off.


	11. Rinse

Because I promised Jasper'sGoddessofWar you get another chapter. I'm a girl of my word.

It wasn't difficult to admit that his heart had missed a few beats when Bella proclaimed her love for him in her drug-induced state. He did realize that it could have been the drugs talking and that he shouldn't get his hopes up so much, but at least things were progressing in the right way.

When Rebekah came home after helping the wolves take care of Esme, he started to make tea with the herbs that he had his sister get for Bella. He bashed up the vervain, lemon, sarsaparilla, sage and dandelion - healing and cleansing herbs. He then poured the hot water into the pestle and mortar so all the moisture out of those herbs could infuse with the water. And then transferred it to a mug. Rebekah hadn't been too pleased when she heard she had to pick up vervain and said it was useless for Bella anyway as she couldn't be compelled as a witch. Kol had to remind her that vervain always had started off as a protective herb, and that's what she needed right now.

His sister had huffed and put on a movie while she had settled on the other end of the couch, keeping an eye on Bella. It had been promising that she had showed a little bit of herself after her shower, but he was still worried. It was unclear what she had got dosed with apart from the Rohypnol, but he knew that once Bella was back to her usual self, she was going to see red. He expected them to be back in New Orleans by the end of the week.

"Alright, scoot," he told his sister as he approached the girls with the tea in his hand. With a sigh, Rebekah moved to the chair, and Kol was able to sit down on the sofa. He placed the tea on the table and gave a soft squeeze on her arm. He didn't want to disturb her in her sleep, but he had to. "Rise and shine, sleepyhead."

"I'm still sleepy," Bella muttered as she refused to move. "How long was I asleep?"

"A couple of hours."

"Liar."

"I'm not. I've watched two and a half reruns of Toe The Line. So that's at least 2 and a half hours."

She opened her eyes to look at him. "Liar."

"Okay, it was some old TV show of the 1980s but still, you were asleep for a couple of hours."

Bella huffed as she slowly sat up. Everything felt a little fuzzy around the edges while her head was pounding and wanted to kill Kol for waking her up. "Okay, I'm up…"

"How are you feeling, little dove?"

She looked at Rebekah and blinked. "When did you get here?"

"About half an hour ago," she smiled at Bella. "The wolves and I had some business to take care of. Oh, and Elijah called. He's flying in tomorrow evening and will stay at a hotel in town to see us graduate."

"No," Kol whined as he handed Bella the mug of tea that he brewed. In all fairness, he had liked the last few weeks because they were sibling light. Elijah was alright, he supposed, but he was a self-righteous prick. "Why? I mean we're going back to New Orleans soon anyway."

"It's all about appearances, brother," Rebekah grinned at him. "The story is that our older brother sent us here to deal with the loss of our parents, so yes, when we graduate in two days, he'll be with us."

"Two days?" Bella said confused and then sniffed her tea, it smelled awful. "Don't you mean four days?"

"You went missing for nearly four days, little dove, Esme made it very hard to find you."

"What? No…"

"I'm sorry, Cuddles, but she did. She knew exactly what to do for us not to find you that easily."

"Nope. I don't believe it. That's ridiculous. You're just trying to scare me, and that won't work. Esme wouldn't do something like that. I would remember. And I only remember one night. And food once." She said as she shook her head. She took a sip of her tea and tried hard not to throw up.

"I know it's an acquired taste darling, but you need to drink that."

She defiantly put the mug back down on the table and looked at Kol. "Why? So you can poison me?" Maybe she had made the wrong decision of going with Kol. But she hadn't, because Kol was in her home. He had reheated a chicken for her; he had given her food. She liked Kol, very much. But she couldn't help but wonder if Esme had been right. That being with Kol and Rebekah made her sick.

Kol opened his mouth to say something, but his sister hit him with a pillow and shook her head. Maybe Rebekah was right, and Bella had to figure things out on her own - again. He couldn't help but feel cheated. Everything was going so well between him and Bella. Bella was getting her confidence back and then she disappeared, because he and Rebekah weren't paying attention. Oh yes, Elijah was going to be so happy when he'd get to hear that. Not to mention his brother Niklaus. Kol had been daggered for less in the past.

He took the mug of tea and took a few swigs of it to show Bella that it was perfectly fine and set it back down again before getting up with a sigh. This whole situation was frustrating. Yes, Niklaus was right in wanting to protect the girl from the Cold Ones, but frankly, he wished it was over. He hated it that the instructions were that Bella was going to get her revenge on Edward but if Rebekah had killed him the moment they set foot in Forks, maybe things wouldn't have been like… this.

Bella looked up at him with fear in her eyes. "Where are you going?"

"Out," he muttered. Before I do something I will regret, he added in silence.

"I'm sorry," she quickly grabbed the mug of tea and drank it, it was vile but she had to please him, she didn't want him to leave because she was difficult. If it truly had been poison, Kol would be showing signs of it, and he wasn't. He seemed upset, that's all. "Please don't leave."

Kol groaned as he ran his hands through his hair and kept walking towards the door. "Rebekah, keep an eye on her. Make sure she sleeps," he said as he pointed at the confused looking Bella.

"Don't do anything rash, brother," Rebekah reminded him. She had stayed out of the taking care of the human girl upon her return as she knew how much he had taken a liking to her. She could understand his frustration, there was an end to Kol's patience, and he had reached it.

In all honesty, up until the point that Bella went missing, he had been a good man, and when Bella went missing, something inside of him snapped. He had been angry, frantic and had been trying different spells to locate her and had barely slept. It was a good thing that he chose to remove himself from the situation instead of having things escalate. Maybe he'd be back in time to take a long nap himself. "What are you going to do?"

"I'm going to poke a mountain lion," he said and closed the door behind him.

Rebekah sighed as she settled on the couch and had Bella snuggle up against her. The girl was still very much out of it, had her brother thought that she'd be alright after just a couple of hours of sleep? Who knew what that horrible bitch of an ex-mother in law had done to her.

"Is he angry at me?" Bella asked softly. "I didn't mean to anger him…"

"It's alright, little sister," Rebekah said as she caressed Bella's hair. "Kol is just extremely tired and impatient, but he is also very happy that you're back in relatively good shape. He will be back."

Bella nodded as she pulled the duvet over her.

"I'm going to finish watching this movie, how about you go back to sleep?"

It was a good couple of hours before Kol returned to the house, and Rebekah was glad that Bella was asleep as her brother was covered in blood and scrapes. There was a particular nasty gash at the side of his torso, and she was amazed how he had survived the trip back. "Bloody hell," Rebekah let out a sigh as she carefully lifted Bella up and gently placed her down on the sofa again so she could feed her brother some blood. "What have you done?"

"I told you," he said with a crooked smile as he used the table for support. "I was going to poke a mountain lion."

"That doesn't mean you should actually do it!" she scolded him as she bit her wrist and held it up for him to take her blood. "You could have been killed!"

"Relax, sister, I'm alright!"

"No, you're not. Drink or I will kill you myself." When Kol had his lips around her wrist to drink, she spoke again. "Who knew that Kol Michaelson, the arrogant, self-absorbed prick could care about someone else?"

Kol grumbled for an answer as he drank his sister's blood.

"I like her too and I'm glad she's finally back." She ruffled her brother's hair and watched his body's progress of healing. "But I meant what I said; do something like this again, and I will kill you myself."

Kol huffed as he let go of his sister and wiped his mouth. He then looked at the sleeping Bella and sighed. "I'll go take a shower and get changed. Will you order pizza?"

"You're welcome," she replied to Kol's retreating backside and picked up her phone.

Bella woke up in the middle of the night in her bed, no - Kol's bed, but he was nowhere to be seen. Sitting up, she found him sleeping on the floor, and she wondered why that was. The need to visit the bathroom was more urgent though and she hopped out of bed before nearly sprinting to the toilet.

Upon her return, he was still snoozing away on the floor, and she decided to grab her duvet and pillow to join him there. She felt as if she had been drinking too much the previous night or as if she was on painkillers; she wasn't quite sure what. She did know that Esme had taken her, but other than that, the details were fuzzy.

She smiled when he put his arm around her in his slumber as she snuggled up against him and softly brushed his hair out of his face. She couldn't help but to quietly giggle as she looked at him. Kol looked angelic in his sleep and if there was one word that didn't quite sound like him was that. Bella was pretty sure that once he would be back in a place he felt more comfortable; he'd be quite the opposite.

And strange enough, that excited her. Yes, she had chosen to move to Forks because Bella felt that she was restricting her mother to become truly happy, but Bella had never liked Forks. It was cold, damp and downright depressing. Rebekah and Kol were doing everything they could not have Forks dim their spirits but Bella could tell that even they were miserable, albeit probably not as miserable as she was.

Which was why Bella made the decision to go to New Orleans with them after graduation. Not because of Edward or because of her heritage, but because she wanted to stop sacrificing herself so much. It was time for her to become the person she wanted to be. No more of going out of someone's way to make them happy, no longer staying with someone because her family could get hurt. Soon, all of that would be over.

If Edward and the remaining members of his family decided to follow her because they were obsessed with her, then they'd be in for a surprise. No more meek, little Bella.

"Will you please stop thinking and go back to sleep?" Kol muttered sleepily the moment she was gently tracing his jawline with her finger, and she felt caught. He then snapped open his eyes and looked at her. "Hey, you're awake."

"Of course I am," she smiled at him while blushing furiously. "What are you doing on the floor?"

"I didn't want to disturb you while you were sleeping off the drugs." Kol flicked his hand to switch on the light and was pleased with what he saw. "You're blushing."

"Stop it," she giggled before realizing what he had said. "Esme drugged me?"

"You don't remember anything that happened in the last… oh… days?"

"Days?"

"Yep," he said with a yawn. "But it's alright, you're here now."

"Tell me."

"In the morning, alright? I haven't slept in days," Kol whined when Bella smacked him on the chest. "Alright! But we're going downstairs, and you're going to drink some more tea."

Bella thought for a moment, the thought of going downstairs in the middle of the night and having her body cool off wasn't one of the most fun ideas right now. "In the morning," she said with a nod.

"Good. Then you can call Charlie to come home too."

"Huh?"

"In the morning, Cuddles," Kol grinned as he waved his hand to switch off the light again and pulled her closer.

Bella was quiet for a while and then shifted a little, the hard floor was uncomfortable. "Hey, Kol?" she whispered.

"Yes?"

"Are you still awake?"

"What?"

"Why are we on the floor?"

"You joined me."

"Yes, but why were you on the floor in the first place?"

"You got drugged by Esme, Cuddles, you weren't actually yourself…" he kissed the top of her head. "I didn't want you to end up doing something against your will nor bring myself in the position to have the responsibility to deny you what you'd want."

"Like what?" She had an idea of what he was referring to, but she wanted to hear him say it.

He shrugged for an answer.

"Kol."

"I don't know," he said with a sigh. "I guess I was afraid that if you'd wake up and still under the influence that you'd try to…"

"What?"

He groaned and rubbed his eyes. He wasn't going to get any more sleep, was he? "Seduce me."

Bella grinned as she gently brushed her lips against his. "What's so bad about that?"

"Nothing," he said with a whisper. "It's just that I prefer you doing it when you're not under the influence."

"Like now?" She purred as she brushed her lips against his again.

"I'm not entirely sure the drugs are out of your system yet, darling."

"I'm me. I'm fully aware of everything and I really want to kiss you right now."

"Are you sure? How can you be sure?"

"How can you be?" She had countered before she decided just to shut him up and tenderly kissed him.

Kol gave into her as he shed his duvet to be able to touch her as he made the kiss grow. She was right, how could the both of them be sure that she was back to normal? He had to believe her word for it, although he wasn't quite sure if he should take it. This situation was exactly why he had chosen the floor instead of the bed. He might not always walk the straight and narrow - this certainly wasn't the case when he was still an immortal vampire - but he respected Bella too much to give into… this. "Bella, stop," he breathed after he broke off the kiss. "I can't."

"Kol…"

"No, I can't. Not when I'm not sure. I like you too much to even begin to entertain the idea of continuing this with you right now."

"It's just a kiss, Kol," Bella said, feeling rejected.

"I know, Cuddles, but you've been through a lot in the last few days. We don't know what Esme did to you, or if the drugs are truly out of your system, which I doubt," he said clearly, making sure that she understood. "I'm fine with you and I sharing the floor - well, I suppose we could move back to the bed - to sleep."

"But…"

"End of. Tomorrow you're going to have a few more cups of tea, and then we'll see." He said sternly before feeling her move, grabbing her duvet and pillow and going back to the bed. "Want me to come with you?"

"No," Bella said angrily. While she could understand his reasoning - and it was sweet -, she was certain that she was fine and for him not to take her word for it was frustrating. Then again, it showed how much he cared about her. Edward would have led her on until he had made her feel all hot and bothered and then decide not to proceed. Asshole. She took a deep breath and calmed herself down. It was only sweet that Kol thought of her like that. "I'm sorry."

"That's alright, darling, go back to sleep."

Bella hadn't been able to sleep for the rest of the night. She felt as if she had slept for days and was bursting with energy. However, considering she didn't want to let Kol down, she stayed in bed and took the moment to reevaluate everything. The thought of Esme taking her - according to Kol it had been a couple of days, sickened her. The thought of having been drugged angered her. But she supposed now with Jasper gone, they had to resort to desperate measures. What had happened to the Cullens that made them so obsessed with her?

It wasn't as if Bella was something special because they and the Volturi, had insisted she'd turn into a vampire so the part that made her special would never surface anyway. Bella still had issues with calling herself a witch, because she was just Bella in Forks. They had wanted a mate for Edward, and she had wanted to be that right to the point when he left her to rot in the forest. Because he was weak. He was a scared little boy who didn't trust himself - or his family - to keep her safe and instead he dumped her and made things worse.

Bella suspected that Esme was dead for what she had done, and probably another Cullen that Rebekah and Kol had tortured to get their information from after their methods in finding Bella didn't work out. She snorted; it was likely that that was exactly the case.

The mere thought of so many bodies piling up should sicken her but deep down, her mind already made the connection that the Cullens weren't real people. And if they'd stay alive they'd keep coming for her or even worse; find someone else to manipulate. Death was the only solution for these supernatural beings although Bella wished she had been able to save Jasper. He was a victim too, and she had realized that too late.

She had always thought that the supernatural life was ridiculous when it came to death and killing. Jacob had spoken with ease about it, the entire wolf-pack did, and so had the Cullens. They had no problem with killing one of their own. Humans was an entire different story. Then why did they keep harassing her?

She hopped out of bed the moment the world outside her bedroom window started to brighten. She nearly tripped over the sleeping Kol when she left the bedroom to go downstairs, and she was somewhat shocked by seeing the kitchen, in particular, the kitchen table. Empty blood bags were scattered all over it, and Bella visibly shuddered as she turned to pick up the bin and started to throw the bags away.

It wasn't as if she could get angry with Rebekah for enjoying the few days away from Charlie after having sent him away when Bella went missing. She could understand the energy it took to pretend to be someone else so why bother? But, if Charlie would come back today, she'd better make the house look like as if nothing had changed.

When she had cleaned up, including - presumably - Kol's herbs, she started on breakfast. Luckily there was enough in the fridge to make breakfast with, pancakes with bacon, and she was already thinking of what to make for dinner. They always could go to the diner if she couldn't come up with something. She switched on the water boiler and the coffee machine and then started to stack her pancakes.

It didn't take long for the smells to wake up the siblings, with Kol nearly tripping over his own feet as he made his way downstairs. "No, no, no! Bella!" He whined.

"Good morning to you too," she snorted as she flipped another pancake on the platter.

"I knew it; you're still affected by the drugs, aren't you?"

"I'm making breakfast like I normally do. I'm famished. Since you thought it was more important to find me than to do groceries, it's pancakes." Bella eyed him with a raised eyebrow. "I'm not doing this for you. I'm just making enough for all of us because I'm not selfish."

"And you cleaned up!"

"It was a mess and this is my house?" Bella countered as she crossed her arms over her chest and looked at him. "And I still remember everything we talked about last night."

With a slow nod, Kol started to prepare tea for Bella to drink. She might appear to be back to normal, but another cup couldn't hurt.

"Did I pass your test, Kol?" She asked as she leaned back against the counter and watched him fuss with his herbs.

"You did, with flying colors," Rebekah said with a grin as she sat down at the table. She had heard the two of them speak last night, and she had admired her brother's restraint. Humanity suit him, and it was quite difficult not to be jealous of him, he was going to get everything Rebekah had wanted. He didn't want to break Bella, and that was adorable, but she could tell that Kol was going to have his hands full once she'd feel a lot more confident than she currently felt. In any case, Rebekah was going to make sure that her brothers weren't going to mess with Kol's happiness.

"See?" Bella said with a wide smile on her face. "I passed. Now you two can fill in the blanks over breakfast."


	12. Definitely not Alone

Bella couldn't believe the story Rebekah and Kol told her about what happened, how long she'd been gone, what Rosalie had done, what Esme had done. She wasn't surprised that Rosalie, even though she had been helpful in telling them where Bella was, had been killed; Bella had already thought as such.

Kol had brewed an awful tasting tea, and Bella spent the entire day drinking all of it, even while Jessica came by - unannounced - so that Bella could help her with her graduation speech. Or, in this case, making Jessica feel confident about her kick ass graduation speech while Rebekah went to the supermarket to get some shopping done.

Bella had been surprised by Jessica's visit. It wasn't as if they had been besties for the last couple of months. Bella had been under the Cullen's strict supervision and upon her return too caught up in her mess. Personally, Bella didn't mind seeing as she loved being around Kol, but from a social point of view, she had been a very bad friend. She hadn't even noticed that Jessica had taken a liking to Kol since he started school with them, and she allowed Jess to ramble on for a while when Kol was out of the room.

When Jess started to tell Bella about the fantasies she had of her and Kaleb, she just had to stop her friend right there and put her in her place. He was hers. Not anyone else's, but hers, and she wasn't planning on sharing. Jess left at that point, shocked at the way Bella had spoken, but she didn't care. Kol was hers.

But maybe she could have responded differently and not that territorial.

Didn't she have a good reason, though? She finally liked someone so much, and Bella had given up so much in the past, wasn't she entitled to a little bit of jealousy and claiming of someone?

No.

It wouldn't be fair towards Kol. Besides, claiming was what the Cullens had done to her so if she was doing it; something was wrong. It was wrong. Frustrated, she took out her phone and texted Jessica to tell her that she was sorry. That she had had a rough couple of days and that if Jessica wanted, she could come back to ask Kol if he wanted to be her date to the party. The decision was his to make, and Bella was going to have to live with it.

Bella sat at the kitchen table sipping Kol's tea when Jessica came back in. "Sorry," she sulked as an apology and Jessica beamed at her in return. "Kaleb! You have a visitor!" Bella called out and took another sip of the horrible tea - punishment for her being a possessive bitch and taking away someone's decision-making.

"Okay, so it's not Elijah," Kol said as he rounded the corner and stopped. "She's your friend," he said to Bella as he pointed at Jessica.

Bella shrugged, taking another sip of the tea. Maybe it was growing on her; it didn't make her feel as if she had to vomit after swallowing it. She eyed Jessica, who had turned beet red upon Kol's arrival, and she looked at a loss for words. Sighing, Bella grabbed the nearest fork and poked Jessica in her side, making her jump up with a squeal. She took another sip of the tea to hide the smirk on her face.

"Hi," Jessica smiled at him as she played with a strand of her hair. "Uh… I really like you, Kaleb, and I was wondering if uh… you'd go to the party with me tomorrow night?"

Kol looked at Bella and raised his eyebrow in confusion. Bella tried to look anywhere but at him because suddenly, she felt like the biggest practical joker ever. Of course, she had every right to claim Kol as her own. Just because the two of them hadn't plastered labels all over each other - yet - didn't mean that they weren't together. Guilt was a funny thing, sometimes.

"You like me?" Kol replied with a smug look on his face and leaned against the doorpost with his arms crossed over his chest. "Really? In what way?"

"You're totally hot," Jessica spoke without thinking.

"I know I am, darling."

"And I'm valedictorian of this year and kinda hot too…"

"She fantasizes about you," Bella piped up, looking at the leafy contents in her mug. "Like… what's it like to be kissed by you, or get hugged by you…" She lifted her head and saw that Kol was looking at her. Smiling at him, she continued. "About what it would feel like if your hands were on her body…"

"Bella!" Jessica hissed at her. "You already took one guy away from me and I'm not going to let you take another!"

Bella rolled her eyes at Jessica. "Be grateful Edward never showed an interest in you, he's nothing but trouble, but he's free now if you'd still want him."

Jessica let out a frustrated whine before turning back to Kol. "Please, be my date? Even though Bella just completely embarrassed me in front of you? I promise it won't be weird."

Kol snorted before making his way over to the table and leaned on it with his arms to look at Bella. "Why didn't you tell her that there was no use in asking?"

"I did," Bella said with a shrug as she smiled at him. "But then I felt guilty about taking away your decision about the matter, so I had her come back."

"Oh, admit it, Cuddles," he said before looking at Jessica, who looked crushed. "You just wanted to crush the girl who only wanted to be friends with you because you hung out with the popular crowd."

"Not at first," Bella said, her voice barely louder as a whisper as she reached out to ruffle Kol's hair. "I genuinely wanted it to be your decision and not mine because I know what it's like when you don't get the chance to make one."

He smiled at her. "Alright then, have it your way." He pushed himself off the table and walked over to Jessica. "I'm sorry, darling, I have to decline your invitation. I'm already taking the prettiest girl I've ever come across to the party tomorrow night."

Jessica had huffed before she turned to Bella. "I can't believe you've just humiliated me!" She sneered before marching out of the door, bumping into Rebekah on her way out.

"Excuse you!" Rebekah rolled her eyes at the girl and closed the door. "I leave you two alone for a bit and this happens?"

"She started it," Kol grinned as he started to unpack the bags that Rebekah brought in. "Wow, Bekah, what's all this?"

"Everything that Bella put on the list, I think she's preparing for a feast."

"Yes," Bella said as she shot up from her chair. "With Charlie coming back and your brother arriving as well, I figured to go all out on the food, that way, Charlie has his mouth full and can't interrogate your brother."

"Even if he would and Elijah would tell him something he shouldn't know, it can be fixed," Rebekah countered.

"Yeah, well… I'm not completely happy still with what we've had to tell Charlie in the first place and how you did it."

"It's harmless!"

"How many times can you compel a person without their brains getting scrambled?"

"A lot!"

"Have you tested it?"

"I've compelled a lot of people in my day."

"That wasn't my question. I want Charlie to stay sane. He's my father, and he's the chief of police." Bella said as she placed her mug in the sink and started to pre-heat the oven with the flip of a switch. "I know I've been reluctant about it since the start of all this but could you at least humor me? I'm probably wrong and simply worrying about everything too much and you'll have to do your thing anyway."

Rebekah grumbled. "Sometimes you're such a bore," she noted as she left the unpacking to Bella and unceremoniously set herself down on one of the kitchen chairs. "Brother, please hand me a blood bag, you're closest to the fridge."

Kol huffed and tossed a blood bag at his sister. "You'd better hurry up, I'm sure that Charlie will come back soon."

Rebekah mirrored her brother's huff before tucking into her food.

Bella was cleaning some potatoes, and Kol moved behind her to lean into her and took the utensils out of her hands. He liked it that she had no place to go while he continued peeling the potatoes. "Just so you know," he whispered in her ear. "It was a turn on to see you so possessive of me and then proceeding to take the piss out of Jess."

Bella let out a small whine as Kol slightly pressed her into the counter after taking over her job. If he had left room for her to move, she could have gone and moved on to something else, but he stayed put. She could feel the blood rush through her body and to her cheeks as he remained and whispered in her ear. Feeling bold, she managed to turn around and wrapped her arms around his neck to pull him down a little to her level and looked up at him through her lashes. "It felt good, but wrong at the same time…"

"Oh, but Cuddles," he smiled at her. "You have my permission to be all bossy when it comes to what you think might be competition. It's hot."

Bella licked her lips as she kept looking at him. "Keep peeling those spuds," she eventually said before kissing him and burying her fingers in his hair.

"Oh please," Rebekah whined after a while. "Could you two stop? I'm trying to feed here…"

Kol grinned as he gently broke off the kiss. Maybe it was a good thing to stop right now because he wanted more. He wanted to take Bella right there and then on the kitchen counter, or even on the table his sister was sitting at. Bella would look so beautiful on that table. Naked. On display. He wanted to know if the real thing was as good as in his dreams, her expressions, and little noises as he'd kiss her all over or fuck her.

Realizing that he was working himself up, and that blood was rushing to parts of his body that would become too painful if he continued, he dropped the potatoes. At first he tried to calm himself down, he never had an issue with self-control, not that he can remember, not even in the body. He probably never met the right person. He fleetingly kissed Bella before spurting off to the bathroom, leaving behind a baffled Bella.

Bella held onto the counter, feeling weak in the knees. That kiss had been something alright, and Rebekah had to spoil the moment. But what was it with boys running away from her like that? Edward had done it, making it all about him, saying he was stronger than he thought and then wanted to leave. And now Kol had run off, at least she got a goodbye kiss first.

Rebekah must have seen the look on her face because she snorted. "Speak your mind, Bella, what's going on in that head of yours?"

"Am I repulsive?"

Rebekah blinked as she got up from her chair to throw away the blood bag. "What makes you think that, little sister?"

"Well, apparently I have this gift of making boys run off," Bella pointed towards the stairs to prove her point. "Kol just ran off, and the first time Edward and I kissed - before everything became weird - he nearly knocked out a wall when he jumped off the bed."

She smiled in return and started to pick up the job that her brother had abruptly left. "You are not repulsive, Bella, you're quite the opposite. You should feel flattered."

"By Kol running off?" She couldn't believe what Rebekah was saying. People ran for reasons; one of them being sick and they had to empty their stomachs.

"Oh dear god," Rebekah muttered under her breath. "I know that sex ed at school is ridiculously lacking but haven't you had the talk with your parents?"

"What talk?"

"The birds and the bees?"

"Yeah, sure," Bella said with a nod. "Safety first and all that, but what does that have to do with Kol running off?"

"No one ever told you about the feelings and emotions?"

Bella once again pointed at the stairs. "Emotion: repulsed."

Rebekah pointed at the stairs as well and countered; "Emotion: seriously turned on because of his gorgeous girlfriend and in need of a release otherwise it turns quite painful."

She looked at Rebekah with a blank look on her face, not believing a word. "You're just saying that because he's your brother."

"Bella…" Rebekah sighed as she looked at the girl and realized something. "You haven't had a lot of boyfriends, have you?"

Bella shrugged. "Nobody was interested in me, until Edward."

"Yeah, but you and he didn't have sex, did you?"

"Oh, god, no," Bella said quickly and then turned to unwrap the beef just to have something to do while she tried to hide her embarrassment. "He was afraid to break me because he said he probably couldn't control himself. Puny, little human that I am. He promised he'd try once we got married."

"Oh, it's one of those." Rebekah groaned. "Yes, well, there's nothing wrong with feeling sexy or feeling as if you're about to float or explode. And I know you have experienced those feelings for my brother, your house has thin walls, and I have a great hearing. Your heartbeat is a great lie detector."

Bella nodded as she blushed.

"Regular boys, men or even vampires for that matter… have a cock. Penis. Dick. Whatever," Rebekah said unashamedly and started to cut the potatoes into bite-sized pieces.

"I know that," Bella said maybe a little too quickly as she blushed furiously and started to season the beef. "Biology, remember?"

"Quite right, but did they teach you that men are fickle and easily aroused? When you experience arousal, you don't show it. Yes, flushed cheeks or your nipples become erect…"

"Rebekah!"

Rebekah pretended not to hear Bella's objection. "When guys get aroused, blood flows to their cock, making it grow. Imagine it not being able to do so freely because it's tucked away in a pair of pants and the arousal keeps growing… it can get quite painful. The solution is a pressure release and that's what Kol's doing right now. Giving himself a hand," she continued as-a-matter-of-factly. "He thinks you're hot, sexy, gorgeous, and he can't lie about it because he has an appendage that's quite the lie detector." Rebekah smiled then, thinking of something else. "He's quite literally a wanker right now."

Bella's jaw fell open. "We're preparing food here and you're giving me a crash course on how men work?"

"Yes. You're in need of it. Desperately," Rebekah said, not looking up from her chore. "It also explains why you're dressing the way you do."

"And now we've come to insulting me, great," Bella sighed as she transferred the beef onto an oven dish and put oil over it before throwing it in the oven.

"Not an insult, darling," she smiled at the girl. "Just an observation. It all makes sense now."

"Fine, okay," Bella said after looking around in the kitchen. She needed to do a lot, and she didn't have a lot of time and she knew that Rebekah was only going to be in the way and distracting her from her task. "Please, leave my kitchen."

Rebekah nodded and turned around to wash her hands. She was well aware that she needed to give Bella her space right now, and she was going to inform her brother of the knowledge she had just learned. He sounded about finished anyway. She was worried that he might do something irreparable to the girl and push her away. Then again, her brother didn't drag Bella off to ravage her so maybe he knew he had to be careful.

She waited for him on the landing with her arms crossed over her chest. "We need to talk," she said the moment he walked out of the bathroom and dragged him into the bedroom before closing the door. Sometimes it was useful that humans didn't have supernatural hearing.

"About?"

"Bella."

Kol sighed and ran his hand through his hair. "Rebekah, we were just messing about, that's all."

"I had to console her because you left her like that."

Kol shrugged as he looked at his sister with a look of 'what do you want from me?'

"The girl was clueless, she didn't know why you ran off like that." Was her brother as thick as the girl downstairs?

"I'll explain it tonight… wait, did you say was?" Kol said with a groan. "Rebekah…"

"What? Someone has to tell her about sex when it's not been done properly! She's a bloody virgin!"

"I know that!" Kol shot at her. "It's pretty obvious, innit? She's oblivious to some things, takes other things too far, and I was going to talk to her about all this," he said as he pointed to his groin. "No doubt that that wanker of an Edward didn't take the time to explain it to her. And now, she'll probably be too scared to touch me again."

"She would have been scared even without me filling in some blanks, brother. You should have taken a moment to explain yourself before selfishly running off."

"I would have if I could! This body hasn't been intimate with someone since mother put me in here, Beks. Who knows? It could still be a virgin too. If I had the time to explain myself to Bella, I would have," he threw at her. "I'm not a complete tosspot, you know. I know when to stop, it's just that my mind has a mind of its own."

Rebekah let out a huff and crossed her arms over her chest while she kept looking at her brother.

Kol narrowed his eyes on Rebekah and ran a hand through his hair as he let out a breath. "You're right. I'm sorry."

"I think it's sweet how you want to be all gentle and sweet about things concerning her, but she needs to man up. Not just random bursts. Her fluctuating self-esteem gives me a headache. Niklaus won't like it, either, he will try to push all of her buttons and tear her apart."

"I won't let him."

"I won't either, but you know our brother."

"She won't let him."

Rebekah thought of that for a moment and nodded. "You're right. She's learned enough from this whole ordeal with the Cold Ones that she'll become defiant when she gets pushed a little."

"Jake, what the hell!" Bella cried out as she opened the door, revealing her friend carrying her unconscious father. "What the fuck!"

"Yeah, I know I should have called ahead…" Jake said as he brushed passed her into the house to put Charlie down on the couch. It only took a fraction of a second for the wonder twins to come downstairs to see what was going on. Blondie already had her vampire face on. Awesome, Jake thought. "Look, before you kill me or something… I didn't do it, okay?"

"What happened?" Bella made her way over to her father to check him over for obvious marks and to check his pulse. "Did they do this?"

"Sue, actually," Jake said, somewhat proud.

"What?!"

"Relax," he chuckled and pointed at Charlie. "He shot Paul." Bella blinked at Jake with an incredulous look on her face, prompting him to continue. "We always have two of us guarding your father; Paul took a step out of the bushes just as your father was walking to his car to come home to you. He thought he saw a real wolf and shot him in the flank."

"He saw Paul turn?" Bella gasped as she felt around her father's head with her fingertips, feeling a bump forming. "Sue hit him over the head?"

"Yeah," Jacob scratched his head as he shrugged and turned his attention to Rebekah. "I drove him here in his car; I figured you could do something about it."

"I will," Rebekah said with a nod before Bella could object. "Once he wakes up, I will."

"Just so you know," Bella said as he looked at Jacob. "There's another Original Vampire coming in town tonight. He's their brother."

"What? Why? Why do you bring more vampires to Forks?" Jake said with a slight whine. "You're like this vampire magnet or something."

Bella reached for the nearest object next to her and threw it at Jake's head. She cursed his reflexes when he caught it just in time not to hit him. "We're graduating tomorrow, Jacob. He has appearances to uphold seeing as - what Charlie and most of the school believes - he sent his younger siblings away to Forks to deal with the loss of their parents."

He groaned. "Do you like living in a lie?"

Bella sighed as she got to her feet. "No, I don't. I don't like it that Rebekah needs to scramble Charlie's brain for her to stay here. I don't like it one bit, and she knows that and I can't wait to live a simpler life without my friends having to hide their true selves." She then chuckled and shook her head as she suddenly realized something. "This is also exactly why you and I would never, ever, work out, you see. I'd be living a lie if I'd be with you too because Charlie can't know you're a shifter."

"Yeah, but I could stop shifting and live a human life."

"As if," she huffed. "You like being a wolf too much."

"I like you more."

"No, Jake. After graduation, I'm done with Forks. Charlie won't like it, but I'm done. I need my freedom and not my friends… former friends, thinking that I'm going to do something stupid again." She then marched towards the door and opened it. "Don't bite Elijah. Get out."

He shook his head stubbornly as he stared at her. "Bella… You're already leaving with them. How is that not stupid? I'll leave, but I'll still be here when they leave you hanging," he whispered to her. He then took off for the woods, shifting into his wolf form and looking over his shoulder at her.

Bella angrily slammed the door, waking Charlie in the process and walked back into the kitchen to finish making dinner. She grabbed one of the knives out of the drawer and placed it on the counter. The next person who was going to interrupt her work was going to get stabbed.

By the time she had calmed down, Charlie had been thoroughly compelled. She could tell because she could hear him talk to Rebekah and Kol about his days with Sue. He genuinely seemed to like her, and that felt good; at least Charlie wouldn't be alone when she'd leave. She reached into the fridge to fetch a can of beer for her father and brought it over. "I'm glad you had fun, Charlie," she smiled at him.

"Did you guys have fun on your camping trip?" Charlie stared at the can for a moment, shrugged and opened it to take a sip of it. "They say to cure a hangover is to keep drinking, right?"

"Yeah," she said with a smile. "They say that."

"So, how was your trip?"

Bella could hear the kitchen timer go off and got to her feet. "I'll let Kaleb and Rebekah tell you all about it, I'm needed in the kitchen." She placed a kiss on her father's cheek before going back to the kitchen to get the beef out of the oven.

There was some polite knocking on the door sometime later. "I'll get it," she said as she walked to the front door to open it, revealing the vampire sharply dressed in his suit and greeting her with a smile.

"Ms. Swan," he smiled at her. "Good to see you again."

"Hey Elijah, come in," she replied as she took a step to the side to make room for him. "How was your trip?"

"Uneventful, thank you," he stepped inside the house. "I am proud of my siblings and yourself for graduating tomorrow."

"You sound fake," Bella whispered to him as she lead him to the living room. "Charlie, this is Elijah, Kaleb and Rebekah's brother. Elijah, meet my dad, Charlie."

"Nice to finally meet you, Mr. Swan," He said as he shook Charlie's hand. "Isabella couldn't stop talking about you in New Orleans."

"Oh," Kol playfully cooed as he stood up from the couch to make room for his brother. "He's using your full name, Cuddles, my brother must like you."

"He arrived just in time; dinner's ready in fifteen minutes. Would you set the table?" She asked Kol as she looked up at him.

"Depends, am I still on your shitlist for what I did earlier?"

"Yes."

"Good. Let me set that table for you."

"No, hold on," Charlie stopped his daughter and Kaleb from walking away. "What happened earlier?"

"Nothing, Dad," Bella ran her hand through her hair. Why did he have to be nearly as observant as she was?

"Well, we were snogging earlier and…"

"Kaleb!" Bella hit him on the back of his head. "That's between you and me."

"And Rebekah."

"Whatever," Bella grumbled and headed for the kitchen. "He doesn't need to know that."

Charlie turned to Rebekah - usually the voice of reason - with a confused look on his face. "What happened?"

"I walked in on them while they were snogging," Rebekah lied as she casually shrugged. "A typical case of teenage hormones, nothing to worry about."

"She has a boyfriend."

"Oh, no, she's passed that already," she said quickly. "Edward's a complete tool, she finally realized that."

"Good, I never liked him," Charlie said appreciatively.

"I hope my siblings have behaved themselves, Mr. Swan," Elijah intervened so that Bella and Kol could continue their chores. "They must have been a handful."

"Oh no, they have been on their best behavior," Charlie said dismissively. "Kaleb and I went fishing together and the both of them have been a tremendous help around the house and helping Bella a lot."

"That's surprising and good to hear," He replied with a chuckle.

Bella was glad that Elijah was a distraction for Charlie. Dinner went well, although she could feel how tired she was the moment she sat down to eat. So much had happened during the day that she felt drained, and she wanted to sleep for months. It was quite early when they finished up the dishes and found Charlie asleep on the couch. She covered him with a blanket and planted a kiss on his forehead before grumbling a 'goodnight' to the siblings and went upstairs to get some sleep herself.


	13. Time turn Over

Bella wished that they'd get it over and done with during the entire graduation ceremony. It was long, boring and embarrassing as she tripped on her way over the stage to fetch her diploma. Awkward photos were being taken with Charlie insisting on taking some to send to her mother because he was so proud of her.

There were still a few hours to kill until the party - where Bella didn't want to go to but she did it anyway - and when they got home she went back to bed. It was weird to think that she was going to leave her father on his own soon, but then again, he had survived just fine before she arrived, and he had Sue. And Billy and the entire pack had his back even though he didn't know just what they truly were.

She was ready for a new adventure and the rest of her life. She had meant it when she told Jake that she was tired of living a lie and that there were eyes on her all the time. Sure, she wasn't going to have it easy in New Orleans either, she was going to be without her parents for the first time in her life but they would only be a phone call away. She could shape her life the way she wanted to and explore this completely new side of herself.

Jake could wait for her as long as he wanted but even if things went wrong between her and Kol, she wouldn't return to Forks on a permanent basis. To visit Charlie, yes, but not living there anymore. The world was big and right there for her to explore.

She was ready.

As she stared at the ceiling, she realized that she was truly ready for it all and laughed. She didn't even have to fake the feeling of finally shedding everything. But first, she had to suffer through the graduation party, and she was not ready for that. At all.

Rebekah woke her up from her nap by dumping a bucket of water over her, soaking the bed as she did. "Hey!" Bella whined as she jumped out of bed and looked at her. "Why did you do that?"

"Good, you're awake and partially wet. Get yourself in the bathroom and take a shower. It's time to prepare ourselves for the party." She replied with a big smile on her face. "Don't worry about the bed, it will dry."

Bella huffed and rubbed her eyes. "I'm going to need coffee first," she replied as she tucked wet strands of hair behind her ears.

Rebekah started to push Bella towards the exit of the bedroom. "I'll make you a cup while you're taking that shower. Since you're going to wear that dress, please don't forget to shave."

Bella grumbled as she walked towards the bathroom. "I thought I left the getting pushed around bit behind with Alice…"

"I'm just very excited; that's all."

"Uh huh. I swear, if you're going to take an hour to help me with my hair, I will kill you." Bella closed the door with a sigh.

"I can't be killed, darling," Rebekah smiled widely. "But not to worry, I'll only need fifteen minutes."

"I can't believe that Charlie had tears in his eyes, I didn't see anything," Bella noted as they walked up the path towards the party.

"Trust me, darling, they were there," Kol snorted. Ever since he saw her for the first time in a dress at her home he had this big, goofy smile plastered on his face. "While you and Rebekah got ready he told me that he thought you were allergic to dresses."

"It's just a dress…" Bella replied. Well, it wasn't. She had to admit that she looked different. Cute, even. The champagne colored dress with the black lace top looked perfect on her, she had thought it would look good on her, but not like this. The little bit of tulle wasn't annoying either. While Rebekah was wearing high heels, Bella was satisfied with her ballerinas with a small heel. If she could avoid falling over then yes, please!

"If that's just a dress, I can only imagine what it would look like if you'd step into the fancy stuff," Kol had deliberately not said too much about Bella wearing the dress. He knew she found it hard to get compliments for some stupid reason, but he had said just enough to make her cheeks turn this wonderful shade of pink. But she looked hot. Tremendously so and he had to reign himself in, establish some control over himself because this was different. It was almost as if Rebekah had chosen the dress just to mess with him.

"Hey, Bella!" Angela greeted her with a big smile on her face. She and her boyfriend Ben Cheney wore matching outfits, and Kol thought that was a little bit tacky. "Hi Kaleb! I'm surprised you managed to get Bella out here tonight," she smiled widely.

"What? And miss out on all the fun?" He returned the smile and pulled Bella a little closer to him upon noticing that Angela's boyfriend was looking Bella over as if she was something to be devoured. Bella was something to be devoured but only by him.

"Wow, Bella, you clean up nicely!" Ben said appreciatively before getting smacked in the chest by Angela. "Uh, Ange is taking pictures for the last school newspaper that we'll be sending everyone as a memento of this evening."

"Yeah, and I'll be emailing everyone with their pictures so they can print it out and do whatever with it," Angela confirmed and pointed to the blue sheet that was hanging between two trees. "You two fancy having your picture taken?"

"Absolutely. Maybe you can take one of me and Bella and then us two with my sister?"

"Where is she, anyway?" Angela said as she ushered them towards the sheet. "Usually you three are joined at the hip."

"She's wooing Eric, or at least making a poor attempt, so I see," Kol snickered as he saw his sister - without Eric - walk towards them. It looked as if there were thunderclouds over Rebekah's head and that was amusing. "Ah, getting turned down, again, sister?"

Bella punched Kol in the arm. "Be nice."

"Or what?"

"Or…" Bella thought for a moment. "I'll be Rebekah's date and you can go solo." She didn't want to get her picture taken but did it, for Kol. She knew she would regret it later anyway. Maybe her mother and Charlie would love to have a copy of it as well.

Everytime Kol wanted to drag Bella onto the dance floor - something he knew she didn't like doing because she was clumsy, one of their male classmates would come over to flirt with Bella. After a while, Kol had enough. Bella was somewhat oblivious to the flirting, yet she was questioning why she wasn't invisible anymore. When Mike Newton - damn Mike Newton - approached them, Kol pulled Bella out of the chair she had been comfortably sitting on and pulled her onto the dancefloor when a slow song was playing.

He pulled her close to him and slowly started to move. "I'm glad I'm your date," he said softly in her ear. "I don't have to compete with anyone for your attention, although it's fun to see them trying and fail."

She looked up at him and smiled. "I suppose I'm sort of used to it, being the new girl for a while, and they thinking I'm interesting."

"Oh, but you are," he brushed a strand of hair out of her face. "You're extraordinary and you're the hottest bird at this party. I'm so lucky."

"Stop," she giggled and put her forehead against his chest to hide her beet red face.

He lifted her chin to make her look at him and he could feel his insides melt, she looked like such an innocent, but she wasn't. He was certain there was a lion buried underneath all that innocence and lamb-like behavior, and he couldn't wait to explore that with her. Forks was her prison; it was time for a prison break. "Do you have any idea what you're doing to me, Isabella Swan?"

"I could ask you the same thing," she said softly as she put her arms around him. "Every time you touch me it's almost as if there's a lightning bolt shooting through my body… a good, pleasant one and I get scared…"

"Why?"

"For a very stupid reason."

"Nothing is stupid, Cuddles. Talking about how you feel isn't stupid either."

She sighed as she kept looking at him. It was hard to look at him, not because Kol was ugly or anything, it was completely the opposite. She had been feeling like this for a while now, and she usually tried to ignore her feelings because they were too much, weren't they? When he walked off the other day to relieve himself, she knew what was going on but she forced her head to play dumb. Because if at least one of them were in control over their feelings, things would be alright.

She was more than willing to release her rage, but this was best kept in control. Because there was always a possibility that she'd get hurt, despite Kol not have given her a reason to think that he'd hurt her. "I get scared because if I'd even think of acting upon it… I mean… I don't want to…" she took a deep breath and bit her lip. Was she going to say it? Yes. He'd want her to. "Do something stupid and end up pushing you away."

Smiling, he softly brushed her lips with his own. "Go on, do something stupid, I dare you," he said as he looked into her beautiful brown eyes. "Unleash that inner crazy person you've been holding back and I will show you that I'm not going anywhere." Kol had seen glimpses of that Care-free girl inside of Bella, more of it in New Orleans but in Forks too, when she was sure nobody was watching. He loved it. He knew for a fact that she was going to do well in New Orleans, thrive, even, and he was scared that she might leave him in search for better. Then again, he didn't know anyone who was better than him.

"I can't," she bit her lip again and Kol let out an almost quiet groan. She had to stop doing that; it was too much of a turn on.

"Then I will," he shrugged and started to kiss her. Innocently at first, but once she relaxed into it, he made the kiss grow and kept kissing her until a chaperone tapped the both of them on the shoulder, ruining the moment. The man kindly suggested that he and Bella left the floor and took some time to cool off.

The man was going to pay for the interruption. "Watch this," Kol whispered to Bella and flicked his hand. Nothing seemed to be happening at first, but when Kol made a fist, the man was in a state of panic as he sloppily grabbed his tie and tried to get it off while gasping for air.

Bella had to admit, it was slightly entertaining. However, she didn't want the teacher actually to die so after counting to thirty and noticing that Kol hadn't let him go; she punched him in the arm again. "Let him go," she laughed. "Explain to me how you do that."

"Do what, Cuddles?" He asked as he let the teacher go and put his arm around her as they continued to walk off the dance floor. He then pointed at Jessica and gestured with his hand, almost simply flicking his wrist, causing Jessica to nearly have a Marilyn Monroe moment with her dress. "Same as you'd use a digital camera these days. You'd simply point and click. Or in this case, think of what you want to do and simply use your hand as an exit point for the magic inside of you."

"You make it sound easy."

"Oh, but it is. You'll see when we get to New Orleans…" he then looked at her. "You are still coming, aren't you?"

"Yeah," she smiled at him. "Of course I am."

"And not just because you want to take your revenge?"

She stopped walking and caressed his face for a moment before pulling him down towards her and kissed him. "Because of you. The revenge is a bonus," she replied with a smile. "One problem though…"

Kol sighed as he knew the answer. "You haven't told Charlie yet."

"I haven't told Charlie yet," she echoed. "I was planning to, but I don't know how. He'd like seeing me going to college in Seattle or whatever, not move halfway across the country."

"You're old enough to do whatever you wish to do. I think he'd be proud of you to undertake such an adventure all by yourself."

"Maybe," she said with a shrug. "I just don't want to leave him, you know…"

"All children must leave the nest at some point, Isabella," Elijah's voice sounded from behind them. "It's part of growing up."

"Where did you come from?" Kol whined. It was bad enough that his sister was around somewhere, but to have to deal with Elijah at the party too? Wasn't he a little bit too old?

"I thought that seeing as I'm here now anyway; we'd discuss the plan to see if anything needs changing," Elijah said as he lead the two away from the crowd of people. "I'm sure that Rebekah will follow us soon," he continued in a polite manner. "As for your father, I believe I have taken care of that." When Bella opened her mouth to say something, he spoke again. "I used my words, Isabella, do not worry."

"What did you tell him?" Kol asked, not surprised that his brother seemed to have thought of everything and even managed to work Charlie into the equation.

"I merely said that Isabella is a smart young woman who, during her time with our family in New Orleans, had shown an interest in visiting the city again due to its rich history and amazing atmosphere. That, if she'd want, she'd be more than welcome to stay with us for as long as she wanted to figure out what she was going to do next in her life."

Bella had to admit, she was impressed. "What did he say?"

"Surprisingly, something about your mother having roots in New Orleans."

"What?" she said surprised.

Elijah nodded as they stopped walking now that they were far enough from the party to be worried about eavesdroppers. "Your mother once hired someone to trace her family line, simply because she was curious after a story her paternal grandfather had told her - that she was the first Higginbotham female born in a very long time."

That sounded like such a Renée thing to do, finding out her genealogy like that before moving on to the next hobby. Bella wouldn't be surprised if she'd unearthed more information than just names. "I should talk to her about that," she said with a snicker.

"I am sorry that you and I haven't had the chance to talk that much over the last two days, Isabella. While I'm glad that you're alright and that you've managed to sleep off the effects of whatever they had given you, I wanted you to know that Niklaus and I have been talking about your plan of revenge that you initially set up in New Orleans before coming here," he said as he looked at her. "In all fairness, despite my brother not knowing you that well, he has made it clear that he wants to help you to get your revenge by any means necessary. He's a master strategist and he has some ideas that could help you."

"What? Nik the advisor?" Kol scoffed as he shrugged off his jacket and wrapped it around Bella's shoulders. Now that they were away from the crowd, the temperature had dropped somewhat, and he didn't want her to catch a cold.

"I made it clear to him that it's going to be Isabella's crusade, not his. We all love a good revenge, but she deserves this one. I understand that the Cullen's numbers have already dwindled?"

"There's four of them left now," Bella softly replied and hugged the jacket close, she loved how it smelled like Kol. "I doubt, however, that it'll stay that way. They have a lot of allies that I merely got a glimpse of, once, some with their own unique abilities. They might gather some of them to join them in their crusade to get me."

"Are you certain they will follow you to New Orleans?"

"I am," Rebekah's voice sounded as she finally joined them. "You should have seen the looks on their faces when it came to Bella, it's insane. It's pure obsession and the hunger for more power. It's as if they're a pack of dogs and Bella is the bone they will not let go of under any circumstance."

Elijah seemed to think for a moment and then slightly shrugged. "In any case, the word got out that there's a new Claire witch coming and the witches can't wait to help and teach her everything they know," he smiled at Bella. "According to Davina, they're also quite scared seeing as they have no idea how powerful you are or can become. But if you really want to go through with the plan, you will have to work hard on mastering your craft to fight this battle."

"Don't worry, Elijah," Rebekah said, there was a hint of boredom in her voice. "I'm certain that Kol will make it fun for her."

"The question that remains is," Elijah said as he looked at the human girl. "When do you wish to leave?"

"I vote for tomorrow," Rebekah said quickly.

"No way," Bella snorted. "I have to pack."

"We can buy you new things in New Orleans. Please," she almost begged. "I'm missing the sun, the warmth and most of all, the excitement that comes with the city."

"I'd probably need a few new clothes seeing as I don't own shorts but my clothes are coming with me. I don't have the money to buy new clothes. Speaking of which, I'm going to find a job there."

The three Mikaelsons looked at each other with surprised looks on their faces before one of them composed himself and kissed the top of her head. "If you want to, you should," Kol replied. "But if you need anything, we're more than willing to-"

"That's it," Bella pointed out. "I want to be able to buy myself things if I need them or a gift to someone or whatever. With my own money."

"And what did you have in mind?"

"I don't know," Bella said with a shrug. "Maybe work in Cami's bar."

"I do not wish to belittle you or your decision to look for a job as I have heard you value your independence now that you have it back, but I think that your main focus should be getting your magic under control first. No other… distractions." Elijah said carefully. "Give yourself some time to get used to a new situation."

"What my brother is trying to say is that you will not lose your independence if you give yourself some time to relax, learn and get used to a new situation. You can do whatever you want." Rebekah tried to translate her brother's words.

"And I want a job."

"Ugh, humans," Rebekah rolled her eyes. "Don't worry, little sister, you will change your mind sooner or later when you'll be having too much fun to be responsible. I'm going back to the party."

Elijah sighed as his sister walked off. "Isabella, I urge you to talk to your father about your plans and then start to pack."

Bella didn't know what it was, but Elijah liked to talk with his hands, almost as if he used them to make certain words sound more important, trying to exert authority of some sort. "I will," she simply said and took Kol's hand. "But not before Kol and I had another dance."

They didn't stay for much longer at the party because Bella did want to get out of Forks as soon as possible, and she had a lot to do in not much time. Charlie was waiting for them when they came back to the house, and Bella unceremoniously plopped herself down next to him on the couch. "So…"

"You want to go to New Orleans?"

Bella looked at him and nodded. "I wouldn't have gone if I thought you were going to be alone again."

"Sweetheart," he smiled at her. "If you want to go, go. It's your life, your future, and you should do what you feel is best for you. It's not as if you're moving to the other end of the world."

"Are you sure? I mean… I don't want to-"

"Bella, this is a great opportunity for you. Elijah told me that you'll be taken care of just as we've taken care of his siblings," he put his arms around her and kissed the top of her head. "I'll come visit you. You can come visit me. But you've graduated now, you're a young woman who's ready to take on the world, and I know that Forks isn't the world."

"Am I being too much like mom?"

"No, Bells," he kissed the top of her head again and let go of her. "You should pack what you want to bring with you and if you need anything else I can send it to you."

"Are you sure?"

"Isabella Marie Swan, stop thinking of your old man and do what you want. Just for once. Just do it."

She woke up early the next day to quietly sort through her clothes and made neat piles of what she wanted to bring with, automatically discarding every piece of clothing she had received from the Cullens. Maybe it could be donated, but she'd rather burn them all. She tried not to wake Kol with her movement through her room, but he was probably awake anyway, keeping an eye on her.

To be honest, now that the plans for her moving to New Orleans were finally happening, she felt a little bit overwhelmed? Scared? Happy? Relieved? Worried? She wasn't quite sure, maybe all of the above. But, on the other hand, it felt good. New start. No prying eyes. Not having to behave because she's the daughter of the police chief or not having to be the mother to her own mother.

Bella sighed as she got to her feet and went downstairs to the kitchen to grab a bin liner to throw in her old clothes and found Rebekah in the kitchen, drinking from her blood bag. "Are we going tomorrow? This was my last one, you see."

"I think so, yeah," Bella smiled at her as she grabbed what she needed.

"I don't know if you had any plans of going to the reservation today to say your goodbyes to Jacob…"

"Yes, I am, why?"

"Because last night, when we were talking to Elijah, some of the wolves were there. It's quite possible that they won't allow you onto the reservation."

Bella thought for a moment and nodded. "Thanks, I'll ask Jake to meet me at the treaty line."

Rebekah then pointed at the bin liner. "What are you going to do with that?"

"I'm going to put the clothes Alice got me in the trash, where they belong," Bella said determined and went back upstairs where she found Kol rummaging through her clothes and messing up her neat piles. "Kol!"

"What?" He cheekily smiled at her. "It was all too neat, I couldn't resist…"

Bella scowled as she pushed him away from her clothes and sat down on the floor again to rearrange it all. "I swear if there's stuff missing…"

Kol shrugged as he sat down on the other side of the pile of clothes and grinned. "I might have made a few items disappear, I might not have…"

"Rebekah wants to leave tomorrow, if you're going to make a habit of sabotaging my efforts to pack my bag, you'll have to deal with her because then we won't be leaving tomorrow," she picked up one of her checkered shirts, rolled it up and threw it in his face.

"Do you want to leave tomorrow, Cuddles?"

"The sooner, the better, to be honest," she said with a nod before she started folding everything into neat stacks again. "I was planning on asking Jake to meet me at the treaty line today to say goodbye to him."

"Alright, I'm going to get dressed, and then you can tell me what to do," he got back to his feet and went to his bag. "But I probably should start with packing my own bag."

"Yep," she snorted.

Bella wasn't surprised that Jake was waiting for them at the treaty line that afternoon. He always waited for her, and that was a problem. Even his whole speech the other day was a problem. He wasn't going to like it that she was going to New Orleans, and she suspected that he once again, would say that he'd be waiting for her in Forks if things wouldn't work out.

Kol held her back for a moment after they got out of the car. "What if he loses control?"

"He won't," Bella assured him. "No matter his issues, he's in control over himself. Besides, I've got you to stop him from attacking me, don't I?"

He huffed in return and decided to sit down on the hood of the car as Bella walked towards her friend.

"Heya Bells, what's up?" He greeted her with his usual goofy smile and opened his arms as to invite her in for a hug.

She hugged him and smiled at him. "The sky, obviously."

"What's so important that you couldn't say over the phone?" He then jerked his head towards Kol. "Did he knock you up?"

"Jake!" She said with a whine and hit him on the arm. "No, and whether or not we have done it, is none of your business."

"Seeing as you're still referring to it as it, I doubt you've done it," he said teasingly.

"And just so you know, your father is okay with me and Kol… Kaleb. He sort of gave his blessing during the barbecue," she said smugly, which resulted in a whine coming from Jacob.

"Yeah," he said with a sigh. "He told me. He also told me to let you go, but I can't, Bella. I have never been able to."

"You're going to have to. I'm going to New Orleans."

"Yeah, I know," he sighed again. "Paul, Sam and I were at the party last night; we overheard your plans. Paul and Sam are satisfied to see that you've truly separated yourself from the Cullens and that you're not being coerced by the new people in your life either. I feared for your life when you dared to stand up against the male Original vampire though."

"Oh, you have no idea. Yesterday was mild. I blew up at him when we were still in New Orleans for… bullying his brother in the past," she said with a snort. "But Jake, just because I'm moving away, doesn't mean you and I can't talk to each other anymore. There's this thing called the internet, and I'm sure you'll love New Orleans if you come and visit."

"Unlike you, I have no desire to leave my friends and family behind, even if it's for only a couple of days," he said grumpily and looked at the ground.

"Yeah, and unlike you, I've never liked this place to begin with, remember? I was much happier in warmer climates," she made him look at her. "If I stay, I won't be happy. Do you want me to be unhappy?"

"No… but what if they turn out the same as them?"

"Jake…"

"No, I'm serious, Bella. There was nothing wrong in the beginning when you started to hang out with Edward. The only problem was that he's a vampire. Look where it got you, huh? At least you know I'll never change."

Bella sighed, trying not to get angry with Jacob, but she couldn't help herself. He didn't want to be happy for her; he didn't want her to leave - despite everything that he had learned in the last few weeks. "And that's your problem, Jacob," she shot at him, already feeling guilty about having to leave him like this but she didn't see any other option. "You don't change. You need to grow up because newsflash, you can't always get what you want. I'm not saying things are going to be easy for me, but it'll be fine. I'm not staying because you want me to. Goodbye, Jake," she said before turning around and walking towards Kol. "Let's go."

"You sure, Cuddles?"

"I'm done with him," she said bitterly and got into the car. "I don't wish him any harm, but he's being an asshole, and I'm done with playing nice."

Kol laughed as he started the car, amused by seeing Bella like this, a little bundle of rage and impatience, more than willing to leave Forks behind and everyone in it but her father. She was ready for her freedom and he couldn't wait to find out what else she had in store for him once she had gotten used to the life in New Orleans. He could tell that she had certain expectations - seriously, why would she want to get a job? And Kol couldn't wait to show her that life's supposed to be all about fun and games and no cares in the world.


	14. The Great Escape

While they were flying out to New Orleans the following day, Bella couldn't believe that she was doing it. But it felt good and from this point on, she decided, she would not look back. She had two suitcases in the hold of the plane, and she had stuffed some things into Kol's suitcase as well. There was no way she was going to leave without Bobby the Bear, even if her father would send her her remaining things when she'd ask him to.

There was this slightly tingling sensation in her extremities that only grew as they got closer to New Orleans, almost as if something was waiting to erupt from her body. Sure, she was nervous, but this feeling was something completely different. She had felt it before, right before she magically threw Kol into a dresser. She smiled to herself. That seemed to be so long ago but in fact it hadn't been more than two months ago.

After the plane landed and taxied to the gate, Kol held out his hand to help her to her feet, and the both of them were surprised when they got shocked. It wasn't like static electricity because that felt different, this was a jolt of energy that originated in their hands and running up their arms. "Well," Kol said with a grin on his face as he shook his arm to get rid of the numb feeling and helped her up, blocking the magic now that he knew what to expect. "Someone has opened up."

Bella blushed. "Was that?"

"Oh yes, it was, Cuddles," he reached into the overhead compartment to get their backpacks. "You've opened yourself up to the possibilities, to the potential and it's clearly showing."

"It's also potentially dangerous," Elijah spoke, he and Rebekah had been sitting in front of them on the plane. "You mustn't lose control over your emotions until you've balanced out."

"He's such a stick in the mud," Kol grinned as he nodded towards his brother. "Remember you asking me how I did stuff?" When Bella nodded, Kol flicked his hand as he winked at her.

"Kol!" Rebekah hissed. "Do not pull my hair!"

"I didn't!" Kol said innocently.

"We're disembarking a full plane, please do try to behave yourself," Elijah scolded his brother.

Go on, try it, Kol mouthed to Bella and Bella repeated the movement that Kol did and visualised tugging on Rebekah's hair, curious if it would work. She was a little bit apprehensive because of the two vampires and because she wasn't quite sure how not having practise at all would not result in her accidentally blowing everyone away.

"Kol!"

"It wasn't me! Honest! I swear!" Kol laughed as they got off the plane. "It was Bella. Just… don't make her upset or anything," he said with a shrug. "Since we're in the airport."

"Oh, now he's sensible," Rebekah said with a sigh.

"I'm sorry," Bella apologized as she looped her arm through Kol's and shoved the other one in her pocket. "I should have known better." There were a lot of people around, she should have thought before she listened to Kol, but it had been fun to try; it didn't require much effort or concentration. She could imagine though that Rebekah was annoyed about it. Or Elijah, for that matter.

"Yes, yes you should have," Rebekah said annoyed as she started to make her way through the mass of people towards the luggage belt.

"Don't worry, Cuddles," Kol said softly and kissed the top of her head. "Rebekah is glad she is home, don't take it personal, she always gets a little bit grouchy."

Bella huffed. "No more babysitting us, you mean?"

"Well, you, and yes," he pointed out. "Tell me, you must feel at least a little bit excited to be diving head on into a new adventure."

"Of course I am," Bella said as she fell into Kol after a businessman pushed past her in a hurry, knocking his carry on against her legs. If it hadn't been for her already holding on to him, she would have fallen flat on her face.

"Oi," Kol growled before using his magic to have the man's bag spill open all over the walkway, resulting in him cursing and ranting while he started to pick his stuff back up. "Serves him right, the wanker," he muttered under his breath. "Although, I don't mind you falling into me every once in a while," he said with a lopsided grin on his face as he looked at her. "I'm your hero, after all."

"I'm not going to live that down, am I?"

"Nope," he grinned and then let out a happy sigh. "So glad to be back here. The moment we got even close to New Orleans I could feel this burst of magic going through me and it's exhilarating."

"That tingly feeling?"

"You felt it too? Did you feel it on your first trip here?"

Bella shook her head. "But I think I felt it now is because I am open to the possibility. I mean, I didn't even know there was such as thing as magic before."

"Oh yes, the possibilities are endless, you're going to have so much fun with it, I promise!"

"Yes, but not in the airport," Elijah said as he turned to his brother. "Both of you."

Kol scoffed as he looked at him. "It were tiny spells, brother. No harm done."

Klaus was waiting for his siblings when they got to the compound. He stood on the balcony overlooking the entrance with his arms crossed over each other and then jerked his head for his siblings to come upstairs. Elijah told Bella to go to the room she had when she was in New Orleans before, and she wanted to protest. Mainly because she didn't like secrets. Kol, of course, saw how Bella's demeanor changed, gently took her arm and pulled her closer to him. "Don't worry," he whispered, brushing his lips against her ear. "I'll tell you everything once we're done. Go unpack. I might have arranged a present for you." he then kissed her and followed his siblings up the stairs.

Sighing, Bella made her way to her room with her bags and snorted when she saw a couple of books on the bed. Latin for Dummies, French for Dummies and New Orleans for Dummies. There was also a bag with fencing gear, she recognized it as fencing gear because she had seen Carlisle and Edward use it - they explained that although they didn't need it, it wasn't the same experience. The clothes were in the right size too. Bella assumed now that they were away from prying eyes that Rebekah or Kol could teach her things Charlie would get a heart attack from. She had to admit, the sessions of stick fighting they had in the last few weeks had been fun and worked to let off some steam.

She didn't feel the need to unpack just yet; she had no idea how long she was going to stay at the compound and if Kol wasn't staying, she didn't want to stay either. She took her phone and decided to call Charlie to inform him that she had arrived in one piece.

She didn't know for how long she and Charlie were on the phone while she flipped through one of the books. When she saw a shadow appear at the door, she hung up and looked up. "Done?" She smiled widely at Kol, who was leaning against the door, and he didn't look happy at all. "What?" She got off the bed and walked up to him, seeing that he wasn't unhappy but worried. "What's going on?" She took his arm and pulled him inside the room and looked up to him. "Can't you stay here?"

"It's not that, Cuddles," he muttered as he pulled her close and breathed in her scent. Even after having sat on a plane she still smelled bright as rain. "I can stay here, I made that very clear to my brother. He may think I'm a nuisance, but so is he. I don't trust him with you."

Bella nodded slowly. "I would have gone with you if you weren't allowed to stay."

Letting out a snort, he kissed the top of her head. "I need to tell you something and you have to promise not to freak out."

Blinking, she looked up at him, fearing the worst. "It can't be Charlie, I just spoke to him on the phone. Who died?"

"No one," he replied. "But Niklaus… well, I knew he had some questionable friends, met most of them, but he kept this one from us. Rebekah isn't happy about it either, and it seems that Elijah knew about this too. But, I suppose, if you're as paranoid as my brother, you like to keep friends who are on the opposing side to keep an eye out."

"Makes sense," Bella said slowly as her mind worked in overdrive. "You're saying he has a cold one in his pocket?"

"I wouldn't say that, exactly, but this one's loyal to Niklaus after he ran into him in the 1800's. My brother gave him and his mate the means to hide from whatever they had been running from," Kol explained as he caressed a strand of Bella's hair out of her face. "As it turns out, this one used to be best friends with someone we're both familiar with."

She realized that he was taking things slow on purpose so she wouldn't accidentally do something stupid with her magic and pinched the bridge of her nose with a sigh. "Just tell me."

"His name is Peter Whitlock."

"What? Why? Why is he here?"

"You know him?" Kol asked surprised.

"No, I know of him. He and his mate were spared by Jasper in the wars. Why is he here?" She had to be honest, the thought of Peter being here scared her. Peter was an ally of the Cullens, or at least of Jasper and Alice and that couldn't be good news. She also knew that he didn't follow the same 'diet' as the Cullens did. This made him unpredictable at best, hell, even Edward thought he was a danger to Bella seeing as his self-control was something he had to work on and made sure they stayed clear of Bella when they visited.

"You should talk to him."

"Me?" Bella snorted. "No, absolutely not. I know enough to stay well clear of him."

"Nik promised you'll be safe. I'll be there too. I know that we just got back here and that talking with him is not a priority, but you have to talk to him. He's not as bad as you may think." When she didn't answer, he sighed. "Look, he is hiding something. Nik said Peter demanded only to speak to you. I don't know why, Nik doesn't know why, but since he's a cold one, it must have to do something with your cause."

Bella huffed and crossed her arms over her chest as she looked up to Kol. "Fine." She reluctantly followed him upstairs. What if Peter was worse than Jasper had been with controlling himself around humans? She could very well be endangering Kol now.

"Hello, little Swan, nice to see you again," Klaus greeted her politely as he stood before closed doors. "My apologies for having you have to deal with this, but Peter insisted."

She raised an eyebrow as she looked at him. "I sort of suspected you having dealt with the cold ones before, the way you talked about them and how you handled Edward and his siblings before, but this?"

"Don't worry, love," Klaus apologized and saw Bella wince at the word. "He's not here to hurt you. Not all cold ones are bad, and he is aware of your situation."

Bella slowly nodded and relaxed her arms before taking Kol's hand and stepped into the room. It was another living room type of room; there were couches, and there was a coffee table and some art on the walls. Peter was sitting comfortably on one of the couches, his arm casually draped over the back of the couch and one of his legs was swung over the other. He got up the moment Bella entered the room, and she was taken aback by how red his eyes were. At least he wasn't hungry.

"Good to finally meet you, Bella," Peter drawled as he extended his hand to her. Texan. Of course, he was a damn Texan, just like Jasper had been. He had this ruggedness about him that made her think of him like a cowboy and no doubt that he'd have no trouble attracting women for himself. When Bella didn't shake his hand, he nodded. "I can understand your apprehension," he continued, a smile on his face. "I am a friend." He then looked at Kol and nodded at him. "I know how much you care about her, I am here with the best intentions."

"Ah, for a moment there, I thought you had lost your ability to do your thing," Klaus spoke as he closed the doors. "Let's sit, shall we?"

"Wait, what?" Bella said confused as she looked between Klaus and Peter. "What?"

Peter smiled knowingly. "Allow me to tell my story, Bella," he said as he gestured to the couch and watched how she pulled her boyfriend with her before he sat down himself on the other one. "No doubt you have heard about me. Knowing Edward, he probably described me as some monster, but that was what Jasper and I wanted everyone to believe. You see, he saved my life a few times, Jasper, and he became my best friend. You could even say we're brothers, that's how deep our connection goes. He allowed me to take his name when I forgot my own. He had a feeling that something was off when he was being courted by Alice and her family and wanted me to be his backup plan in case things would go awry."

Bella swallowed hard. If getting killed by a pack of angry wolves meant that things went awry for Jasper, then he should use more powerful words, like… shitstorm.

"Like Jasper, Alice and Edward, I have a gift of some sorts. I know things. I don't know how, but I just know. It's quite possible that someone in my family was a psychic or a witch," he then smirked. "Edward and Alice must have been so frustrated with you."

Bella slowly nodded. "I uh… Because of me… he uh…" she sighed, having trouble to find the words. Still. She felt so guilty about Jasper's death and here was his friend talking about him as if he was still alive. "I'm sorry, he died."

"I know," Peter said slowly. "And it wasn't because of you, nor did the wolves retaliate for Seth's death. It had been Jasper's choice and somehow had managed to persuade the wolves to take him apart."

"What?" Bella stammered. "Why would he do that?"

Peter then smirked as he leaned back on the couch; his arm slung back over the back of the couch. "Because he was like you and by seeing how you fought against his gift and the drugging that the Cullens did, he got the strength to do the same. Leave," he then shrugged. "Albeit in a slightly bloody way."

She swallowed hard as she squeezed Kol's hand. It made sense why the wolves got the jump on him; it was because he allowed them to. Life with the Cullens had been hard on him, and he decided to step out. Permanently.

"I know what the Cullens did to you, Jasper has told me all about it, and I am so sorry," he said as he looked at her. "Klaus told me that you wanted your revenge on them, will you allow the Major and I to join you?"

"Sure," Bella said with a nod. "Who's the Major?"

Peter just smirked as he jerked his head to the door. Even Klaus had a self-absorbed smirk on his face. Bella looked at the door as it opened, and it revealed Jasper, wearing a big smirk on his face. "Major Jasper Whitlock, ma'am, at your service," he said as he saluted and then opened his arms as Bella got up and ran to him. "Hiya, Bells," he sighed happily as she hugged him.

When she let go of him, she smacked him in the chest. "I saw you die! Why didn't you tell me!"

"I wanted to tell you," he replied with a grin on his face. "I wanted to tell you everything, and how sorry I am for having manipulated you, but Jacob said that-"

"Jacob?!" Bella's eyes grew wide in shock. "Jacob knew?"

Jasper shrugged. "He's the most sensible of the wolves; I approached him first before meeting up with Paul and Sam, but Bells, you had to see me die. I didn't want you to, but you needed that extra push to sever your emotions and feelings completely from Edward and the rest of the family. I needed to be sure you would go through with this because they're a bunch of assholes."

"I can't believe this," she said as she moved away from Jasper and started to pace around the room. "I must be still dreaming or drugged because this isn't happening."

"Cuddles, calm down," Kol said as he took a step towards Bella but when she looked at him, he decided to stay put. If looks could kill… "You're not drugged."

"Ha!" Bella snorted as she kept pacing, warily eyeing everyone else in the room. "That's exactly what a hallucination would say." She then pointed at Jasper. "How did you survive the wolves' mauling?"

"I wasn't burned," Jasper said with a shrug. Normally, he would have reached out to her and calmed her down, but he had promised himself not to do that anymore. It had been bad enough that he had done it in the last few years and felt guilty about it. "The wolves took my bits and pieces to a safe place away from the reservation and away from Carlisle and stayed with me until I was whole again… well, apart from the two thumbs that Rebekah took from me…"

"I can give you one back, mate," Klaus spoke up with a grin. "I was sent one. Rebekah knows how much I love little souvenirs."

"That is… slightly disturbing but much appreciated, thanks," Jasper said as he looked at Klaus for a moment before looking back over to Bella. She seemed to be in her 'outer monologue' stage right now, trying to piece everything back together. Things like these usually lead her to have a panic attack, maybe he should-

"No, don't even think about it," Peter scolded Jasper. "Let it happen. You've done it much too often now; you need to stop."

"In any case," Klaus said as he looked at the two cold ones. "You're both more than willing to stay and help Bella with her plans. However, might I suggest you stay out of the sun and only explore New Orleans by night, with one of my nightwalkers until we've found a solution for your little sparkly problem?"

"You're such a party pooper, Niklaus," Kol said, not keeping his eyes off of Bella. "This is New Orleans, two enormous disco balls walking down the street won't make anyone suspicious at all."

"Kol! Be nice!" Bella scolded him as she stopped pacing and looked at Jasper. "You're really here?"

"I am," he said with a snort, feeling how her state of mind shifted back to a normal one. "And I am sorry for what Esme has done to you."

"Not your fault," Bella muttered as she walked over to Kol and put her arms around him. She still didn't like it that Jasper didn't tell her about his plans and that he showed up here, in New Orleans, of all places. She was even more surprised that Klaus had let him in. Hell, she wasn't even sure if they should trust Peter and Jasper. Like Peter, Jasper's eyes were bright red and with Jasper eating humans, it meant trouble.

"Oh," Peter said as he said with a nod. "She doesn't trust us, Major."

"I don't blame her," Jasper said as he sat down on the couch. "She needs time; that's all."

Glad that both men understood her, she let go of Kol and walked out the door, back to her room. She needed to process this. What did it mean? Jasper could have done all this just to screw with her mind, to talk her out of getting her revenge on Edward and maybe even kill her. Or worse, kill Kol so she would go back to Edward.

Sure, the answer could be plain and simple. That everything they had said was the truth, and that they were here to help her but she had been too trusting in the past and Jasper had manipulated her feelings so she would comply. What if, though. What if they were speaking the truth?

She was glad she hadn't unpacked; it would make it a lot easier for her to put some distance between her and the two Cold Ones.

"Oh no," Kol said as he walked into the room. He had followed her downstairs and saw her eye her bags. "You're not leaving."

"They're here," she pointed out.

"They can leave. You're staying, Cuddles," he said as he pulled her into his arms and softly kissed the top of her head. "They can stay at Elijah's or even Marcel's and they will be monitored. I'm sure that when you tell Nik that their presence here makes you uncomfortable, he'll tell them to leave and arrange for them to stay elsewhere."

"But…"

"You're more important to Nik, trust me. You have more to offer than two cold ones with gifts; he'd want you on his good side."

"So he'll only like me for what I can do in a couple of weeks?"

Kol snorted. "Darling, he'll want you on his good side because he'll fear you once you learn how to control your powers."

It was Bella's turn to snort. "Imagine that, little old me being something to be afraid of."

"Oh and you will love it," he smiled widely at her before softly kissing her. "Let me talk to Nik, okay? I'll be back in a bit. Get some rest or whatever. And unpack some stuff, make this room more like you and less like you're living at your grandmother's."

"Thanks."

Even though Kol stayed in her room with her that night, she wasn't able to sleep. Klaus had tasked Elijah with babysitting Jasper and Peter and moved them as soon as night had fallen, but she still didn't feel at ease. Kol was out like a light, and she decided to go for a little stroll through the compound. She got into a pair of jeans - there was no way she was going to walk around in her pyjama shorts - and quietly left the room.

She took a deep breath to breathe in the New Orleans air. While it had been quite warm when they arrived, it had now cooled off to a more bearable temperature, and it was more comfortable to move around in. She had to get used to the heat if she wanted to survive longer than a week in the city; she had grown too accustomed to the gloomy weather in Washington.

The tiles of the compound felt cool to her bare feet; she loved it because while she was used to sleeping with her socks on, it was definitely not needed here. She nearly got crushed by a vampire being flung from the balcony above her. She yelped in surprise and managed to jump to the side, only to land flat on her ass because she tripped over something on the floor.

She watched the vampire run off and then looked up to the balcony, seeing Klaus standing there, looking at her. "Shame," he stated with some boredom in his voice. "And here I thought you were a witch."

"Oh, sure," she shot back at him as she got to her feet and rubbed her ass. "I've also had so much practise over in Forks," she continued furiously. "I mean, I could do magic and shit while the only thing I could do here was blow stuff away and once, tug on Rebekah's hair. I'm the baddest badass witch you know, and I still don't know what I'm supposed to do with it!"

"Well, you could have started with that bloody vampire," Klaus snarled. "If you'd blown him up, that would have been fun!"

"How? Do you know how this works?"

"Not a clue," he said with a shrug. "Start with focussing on what you want to do and I don't know, use a hand gesture?"

Bella realized he was intentionally playing dumb and only to provoke her into using her magic while she didn't have any control over it. She started to climb the stairs, imagining the balustrade Klaus was leaning on was crumbling away and flicked her hand towards it as she felt an energy surge through her body. The floor he stood on simply fell away and Klaus with it. "Do you think I liked it being unable to practise magic in Forks?" She said frustrated as she looked down at a surprised looking Klaus. "That your siblings had to step in whenever one of them was doing something unagreeable? Do you think I liked it being helpless? Where's the independence when you still have to rely on people stronger than you to fight your battle?" She balled her fists in her pockets and took a step back in shock when the top of the fountain blew up. "Do you think I like being out of control like this?"

"Calm down, little Swan," Klaus said calmly as he brushed the debris off of him and started to walk towards the stairs. "There's no need to demolish my home. I only wanted to make sure my siblings told me the truth about your magic to see what needs to be done to get it under control and get you ready to get your revenge."

"Yeah well, you should trust them more," Bella muttered as she shoved her hands in her pockets and nodded to the mess. "Sorry about the mess."

"Not to worry about that," he said with a smirk as he approached her. "My sister told me you three have been fighting with sticks, how did that work out for you?"

"It gave me something to put my anger into, for sure," she said as she looked at her feet. "I think this all happened because you sprang Jasper and Peter on me today. Amongst other things."

Klaus nodded as he lead her into his study, careful to avoid the hole in the walkway. "I'd like to know if you're certain you want to go through with this. Your magic. Your revenge. You dating my brother. It won't be easy, and I am willing to give you all the help you need with the first two but when it comes to my brother, you're on your own. All I ask is for you not to screw him over."

Bella sighed and counted to ten before replying. "Yes, I am certain. And as I told Rebekah, what's between me and Kol should be just that. I understand that you perceive him as a fragile human witch right now, and you want him to have a good, human life. But that won't happen if you try to control everything in his life."

"He's my brother, you can't tell me what I can't and can do. I know how stupid humans can be."

She snorted as she looked around his study; it was cosy, and there was an easel near the window with a painting on it. "I'm going to repeat the words I've said to Rebekah on this subject. You do not have to worry about Kol; I have no intention of hurting him. In any case, I'm worried he might end up hurting me."

"Very well," Klaus said as he gestured to the couch for her to sit on. "Then starting tomorrow, the kid gloves are off. You're expected to work hard without any complaint as we will help you to get everything under control. You will be pushed to your limits, and there's nothing you can do about it. Forks Isabella Swan is gone. It's time to become the person that's bubbling underneath your skin and live to your full potential. I'm not even going to ask you if you're ready for that."

"But I am."

"Good," he poured them a glass of wine and handed it to her. "Drink up, it'll help you sleep later."

She took a sip of her wine and looked at Klaus. His attitude was refreshing, although she was pretty sure that both Kol and Rebekah could be the same way. She had seen glimpses of that over the last few weeks. She was pretty sure now the both of them were back in familiar water without having to take other people into account, that she was going to see a whole new side of them.

"Your case is a tough one," Klaus continued and started to pace around the room. "I find myself torn between berating you for talking to me as you did earlier and congratulating you with feeling confident enough in talking to me as you did," he looked at her with a smile on his face. "Then, of course, we have the complication that you and my brother seem to be affectionate towards each other. I also have to take in account that you finally have the freedom to speak your mind to anyone and that makes it even harder for me to make up my mind."

"I am sorry. But you started it, with your snarling."

"I am well aware of that, little Swan, but there aren't a lot of people I allow to speak to me like that. I am not certain you have earned the right to do so just yet," she opened her mouth to say something but he continued. "I am also aware of the fact that you are a very angry young woman and that I should give you at least some time to learn how to control your emotions and your powers."

Bella scoffed. "You make it sound as if I am to blame for what happened earlier."

"But you are."

"You provoked me."

"You could have chosen to ignore me, and you didn't and it backfired, creating a hole in the walkway, and you ruined my fountain. Granted, it is better for all of us if your penchant for destruction stays within the confines of these walls, and that is why I am letting it go, this time."

Bella downed her glass of wine and got to her feet. "How about we both take the blame?"

"Not a chance," Klaus huffed with a playful smile on his face. "This is your fault. Go to bed, little swan, before you destroy more of my things."


	15. Shatter Me

To the guest who asked me to write an Isaac-centric Teen Wolf fic: I might. I have some ideas… Unfortunately it won't happen until I've finished this fic, but thank you for thinking that I could do him justice!

To the other guest who asked me to double update this week: Oh, I wish I could. Thing is, I don't do my best work under pressure and would like to take my time updating. Yes, sometimes I can give you two chapters, but more often than not, I can't.

Thank you ALL for reading my little fic and for leaving such lovely comments.

* * *

Kol had been impressed and amused when he saw the devastation of the compound the following morning. He greeted his brother saying that poking someone who was an unstable newbie witch hadn't been a good idea but Klaus still insisted that it wasn't his fault. A part of Bella hated it that Klaus was a man of his word. While Kol's presence was requested elsewhere after breakfast - unfortunately with Davina to figure out a spell to 'cure' Jasper and Peter from being a Cold One - Klaus told Bella to suit up so they could begin their fencing practise.

After lunch, she got an hour to herself to read in her _for dummies_ books before she got picked up by Elijah, who took her to a remote part of town - The Bayou. He informed her that she wasn't going to like it (and neither was he) but it had to happen. And he took her there, because should she have a discharge of her powers the only thing she could do was break a tree. Or maybe startle one of the werewolves.

While Bella had issues with Klaus' teaching skills that morning, it was nothing compared to Elijah. He wanted her to talk about her feelings, to talk about everything that happened to her and Edward and she did not want to and kept deflecting. Why would she tell him everything while Kol already knew most of it? She had gotten better, why was this necessary? She told him, of course, and Elijah responded that now wasn't the best time to stand up for herself.

They went home after two hours of getting nowhere, and Bella felt a sense of achievement, but she could see that Elijah was already thinking of something to prove his point. When they got to the compound, Marcel was waiting for them. Bella didn't know much about Marcel, only that Klaus sired him and that Kol didn't like him much. She remembered Kol referring to Marcel as 'the spoiled brat' during their nightly conversations. That his siblings preferred Marcel over him.

Marcel took her to meet some of the New Orleans witches and from what Bella could tell, he was just about the worst person to do so. Even she was appalled by how he used to keep the witches from doing magic. Not because she was a fledgling witch herself, but because he denied the witches to be who they were by denying a part of them. She did like it that the witches took a liking to Kol, despite him being a Mikaelson as he'd always been good to the witches in the past and stories live on.

Part of Bella believed that Marcel didn't want to help her - at all - because of her feelings for Kol. Whenever he spoke of him, he nearly spat out his name and that made Bella want to slap him for it. Bella stayed quiet and listened, trying to get an idea of the vampire of her own, but she had to agree with Kol; Marcel was arrogant. But now wonder, he had been around at least one of the Mikaelsons since he was a young boy. All were arrogant assholes, even Kol, but that was okay, she could learn how to deal with the rest of them sooner or later..

She did appreciate him showing areas that she hadn't seen on her first trip to New Orleans and the best place to get a decent cup of coffee. She was glad when he dropped her back off at the compound for dinner, and she was more than relieved to see Kol there too. She had missed him.

The following days were pretty much the same, and it made her feel as if she was an unwanted child being handed over from one parent to the next. Elijah had spoken to Rebekah, and he figured out which buttons to push to get Bella to talk and she did not like it at all. Marcel introduced her to Hayley and Jackson, who lead a pack of werewolves together. Werewolves who, as it turned out, were currently being trained by Peter and Jasper. The mere thought of those werewolves being able to fight like Jasper made her blood run cold, but she could understand why Klaus wanted his werewolves to be the best they could be.

Bella had figured out that even though Hayley and Jackson were pack leaders, Klaus thought he was in control over the wolves as well, that they were his too. All because Hayley was the mother of his child, and Bella stopped trying to think about the family dynamic right there and then, it was too confusing and not her business.

She had felt fatigue by Wednesday but didn't complain. She needed a cold shower on Thursday because she had woken up in the Bayou. Someone put her there and a pack of shifted werewolves who didn't look anything like Jacob started to chase her through the woods. She figured it was Klaus' idea of a sick joke and let him know that when she returned to the compound covered in sweat, mud and whatever was sticking to her. Her legs hurt like hell, but she stormed up the stairs and found her way to Klaus' study. She sat down on one of his expensive couches and started to rub her dirty clothes all over it. Klaus wasn't home at the time, but when she was satisfied, she went downstairs to clean herself up and get changed before being picked up by Marcel again.

When it was Sunday, she didn't want to move. Her entire body ached and movement only made it worse. She did wake up early enough to make sure Kol wouldn't leave the bed either; she hadn't seen much of him during the week, and they deserved a day off. Unfortunately for her, today was Davina's day, and she flipped the bed with her magic to get both Kol and Bella out of it.

When she found herself yet again waking up in the Bayou on Wednesday, Bella decided not to move. She didn't want to give up, but she had to. It had been too much, and she was done. Davina had taught her a spell to put up an invisible barrier, and it held the werewolves at bay for as long as she could focus. She hated to feel sorry for herself because this is what she had wanted, but enough was enough. She wasn't going to cry in front of those wolves even though she wanted to.

She had tolerated the first time she woke up in the Bayou. Mostly because she was scared shitless that the wolves were going to attack her, and she needed to run, but she didn't like being on her own in the woods at all. It reminded her of how Edward had dumped her like an unwanted puppy. She had only tolerated it because apparently it was a part of the 'plan'.

To kill time, she started to push the wolves away individually while the shield remained up. It was amusing how far she could throw them and how they always seemed to land on their feet unless Bella flung them into a tree by accident. By the time it started to get dark, Marcel had appeared, and there was no way she was going to allow him near her either. She pushed him back with so much force that he snapped a tree in half when he collided with it.

"Bella, you need to calm down," he grunted as he brushed himself off, and the wolves retreated.

"I am calm," she said emotionless and flung him back again before pulling him to his feet and flung him away again. She repeated it a few times as it entertained her how much he looked like a yo-yo. "And I'm in control," she smirked as he bounced off the shield. "And I'm pretty much done right now."

"When you didn't come back to the compound Elijah wanted to go and look for you but Klaus wouldn't let him," Marcel spoke as he straightened up. "You weren't in any danger."

Bella huffed. "I've been sitting here in the Bayou all day in the hot sun and I'm pretty sure I've been bitten by some insect or two because I'm not even dressed properly. How dare you dropping me off here for the second time in my pajamas!"

"You sleep in that?"

She just looked at him. What was it with Mikaelsons and fashion apart from the fact that they all looked as if they walked out of a fashion magazine? Marcel was technically a Mikaelson as he was a Klaus wannabe in every sense down to his clothing.

"You must be hungry and thirsty, why won't you come back with me?"

"No, thanks," she replied as she kept looking at him. "I think I'll get more sleep out here than at the compound."

"You can't stay here all night, it's not safe."

"And yet, you got me out here in the middle of the night. Twice," she shot at him. "I'm not going back with you."

Marcel pursed his lips as he put his hands in his pockets and didn't look at her. "I understand you're tired and fed up, Bella, but we're running out of time. We don't have the luxury of time to help you to get stronger in every way possible, and I suggest you stop this right now. You are acting like a little child, and it is very annoying."

Bella got to her feet, her legs screaming for mercy after having sat down for too long and dropped the shield before shoving Marcel into a tree again. She held him in place with her magic as she approached him. "I want a day off," she said as she looked up at him. She wanted to tear him apart for sounding exactly like Carlisle or Edward and she really needed a day. Preferably more.

"Didn't you hear me when I said-"

"I heard you," she interrupted him. "But I am taking tomorrow off. If anyone of you decide to pull a trick on me, hell is going to be paid. I want to sleep. There's no use in trying to teach me something new when I continue to be dead on my feet."

Marcel seemed to think it over for a moment and then nodded. "Alright. Under one condition; you are going to speak with Major Whitlock tonight after you've eaten."

She had been avoiding Jasper ever since she learned of his miraculous return and didn't want to break that habit.

"If you refuse, the plans for tomorrow will go ahead as planned."

Realizing that there wasn't another way, she released Marcel and sighed. "Fine."

"Sure, I'll have it arranged. I will see you back home."

"You're not even going to walk with me?"

"You're dirty and in your pajamas. I hold myself to higher standards for company than that." He handed her some money. "Feel free to use public transport on your way home." He then spat off, leaving a flabbergasted Bella behind.

When she managed to get home after what seemed to be hours, she could hear Rebekah yell at Klaus, Marcel and Elijah for being assholes towards Bella. Both brothers were saying that that was the exact reason Rebekah wasn't allowed to help, she had grown a soft spot for Bella and would make things too easy for her. Kol was only allowed to help with the magic side of things and had to stay out of the rest too.

Bella sighed as she walked into her and Kol's room, knowing that he was in there as his clothes were scattered all over the floor, and some steam escaped from the bathroom when Kol opened the door. "Hi, Cuddles!" He greeted her with a big smile on his face as he exited the shower and Bella's face immediately turned a shade of red as Kol hadn't bothered to pull on anything after his shower. "How was your day? Jackson returned a couple of hours ago telling Klaus how he and his wolves were used as target practice," he continued, not missing a beat.

While she appreciated the view after the day that she had had, she couldn't help but to feel slightly annoyed by how 'free' Kol had gotten around her over the last week. He had started to cover himself up less and less, and this was the second time she encountered him stark naked and freshly out of the shower.

"What? Wolves got your tongue?" He said teasingly as he collected his dirty clothes to put them in the hamper.

Bella found a clean pair of shorts and held it out to him when he came back into the room.

"Aw, don't like what you see, darling? I happen to think that this body is perfect as it is, and that covering it up would be a real shame. Besides, it's just us in here."

She shook the pair of boxers to get Kol's attention, but he wouldn't take it. She had to think of another way.

"Davina and I went to see an old witch today about your magic. Mainly because, even though your ancestors come from New Orleans, their bones haven't been consecrated here and are instead scattered across the world. Since, according to the stories, you're supposed to hold all the magic from your ancestors within you, carry it with you wherever you go. You should have been able to do at least a little bit of magic in Forks."

That was interesting, and she decided to give him no longer the silent treatment as she began to step out of her dirty pajamas. She remembered what Kol had told her during the graduation party; _Do something stupid, I dare you. Unleash your inner crazy person. I'm not going anywhere._ "What did she say?"

"Well, it's likely a combination of a lot of things, such as you feeling trapped in Forks and um..." He looked at her and swallowed hard. Was she really undressing herself in front of him? "Because you didn't fully embrace the idea of you being able to do magic until we came back. You had to experience it for yourself how it felt doing magic while being able to control it. I suppose your fast recovery after you were drugged, can be attributed to..." He hadn't seen her naked like this before, only inside his head, as she always took her clothes with her to the bathroom to get dressed. But there she was, naked, just like him, and she was beautiful. "Now why would anyone want to cover you up?" He said huskily as he walked towards her again, taking in every inch of her body with his eyes. Granted, she was slightly dirty from playing in the Bayou, but that didn't matter.

She felt exposed to him like this, extremely exposed. His eyes had darkened, and if she didn't know any better, he seemed to be hungry. She instinctively crossed her arms over her chest, covering up her breasts. "I'm built like a boy," she eventually said and took a step back when Kol came too close. "When I was younger you couldn't distinguish me from my boy classmates because I had short hair. Besides, it's inappropriate to walk around naked around other people."

"Inappropriate?" Kol scoffed as he kept looking at her. "And built like a boy? Geez, Bella, Edward really did a number on you, didn't he?" And there her eyes went, staring at her feet. Damnit. She was gorgeous, she had curves in the right places and if she wasn't squashing her breasts like she was right now, hiding them underneath her arms, he found them to be perfect too. "I used to get naked all the time, there was a time of public baths and saunas you could share with other people while naked," he said with a shrug. "No big deal, everyone has their body as they have their personality."

She whined when she had stepped too far back and was hitting a wall with Kol still approaching her. "Being naked is for sexy people."

He grinned as he locked her in by putting his hands on both sides of her body. The old him would have thrown her onto the bed to have sex, and he wanted to. Oh, he really wanted to. But this had been an experiment - it still was an experiment - and she behaved just as he thought she would. She wasn't ready for anything else just yet. "You're sexy," he whispered in her ear before kissing her neck.

She smelled like the Bayou; a mixture of trees, sand, and water. "But just to be clear," he said as he continued to kiss her neck. "Just because two people are naked, doesn't mean it's a reason for sex. I see it as a way of being comfortable in your own skin that you don't need clothes to validate who you are. That what you see is what you get and… well… Sex is just a bonus."

She closed her eyes and leaned her head back against the wall for a moment, trying to focus. "I need to take a shower," she muttered. "Then eat and drink and if I want a day off tomorrow I have to talk to Jazz."

"You scored a day off?" He snorted, the possibilities already racing through his mind, they were endless.

"Not yet," she quickly kissed him and ducked under his arms, grabbing some clean clothes and a towel on her way to the bathroom for a shower.

After her shower, Kol had retrieved some food for her and she was glad that he was fully dressed. Not that she hadn't liked what she'd seen. It was just… weird. Awkward. Secretly quite sexy and enticing. It was strange how he brought out these feelings in her, she used to have them for Edward, and then they disappeared because the thoughts and feelings she had were inappropriate but Kol… he didn't find it a bad thing, and that was scary.

"What else did that witch say?" She asked him as she tucked into her desert, a bananas foster; she loved it. She could have it for breakfast if needed, it was just perfect.

"Another possibility is that you're just simply tied to New Orleans, and you weren't meant to do magic outside of it," he said with a grin. "That your magic is tied to the city or something in the city at least that has to do with the Claire family. And to be honest with you, I think this is the case. They could never anticipate how many generations of boys would be born, and they were afraid of the amount of power that girl would hold and that it was best to be confined to one city. I doubt we'll ever know for sure what's going on with your powers and how powerful you truly are."

"That sounds stupid," she said as she scraped the remaining of her desert out of the bowl.

"Does it? It sounds like a safety precaution to me," he laughed. "Even Davina is afraid of you."

"What? Why?"

He just raised an eyebrow at her.

"It's stupid. I'm nothing special."

"Yeah, keep saying that, and we might start believing you," he snorted and pointed at the door. "Want me to come with you when you talk to Jasper?"

Bella sighed as she shook her head. "This is something I have to do by myself."

"Are you sure?"

She shrugged. "Not really, but it needs to be done, right? It's not like you and Davina haven't started to teach me the basics of defending myself which worked fine on the wolves and Marcel today."

"Oh, I wish I could have seen that," he said with a grin. "You should sleep with your phone in your pockets at all times. That way you can call me when they pull a stunt like that again, and I can come and watch how you kick their ass."

"Not even to rescue me?" She said playfully with a pout on her face.

"Like you said, we've been teaching you," he countered. "You don't need rescuing."

Bella got to her feet and stuck out her tongue at him before kissing him and walking out of the room. She nearly tripped over a wooden board that was still at the fountain for its reparations - apparently you can't just glue a new top onto a fountain, who knew? - and started to climb the stairs towards the second floor, to the room where she had encountered Jasper a week and a half ago.

She felt a myriad of emotions that she was trying to get under control for Jasper's sake. Surely, he was dealing with enough himself already, and she didn't want him to feel how angry, scared, sorry, worried, betrayed and tired she felt. But maybe it was a good thing to feel all that and then some.

Jasper was already there, and he wasn't alone. Elijah was with him which was probably for the best; it took a lot to get him upset about anything. He was so level headed that sometimes she wished he'd let loose. Although a pissed off Elijah would likely be a bad thing. "Good evening, Isabella," Elijah greeted her politely. "I brought us a pot of tea."

"Hi, Elijah. Thanks," she replied as she looked at Jasper. "Jazz." She stayed on the other side of the room as she sat down next to Elijah.

"Hey Bella," he greeted her. "You look tired."

"I am tired. If I want my day off I have to talk to you."

"You don't want to talk to me?"

"No," she replied and then sighed. "I don't know. I don't know whether to hate you or to feel sorry for you."

"Well, would you at least listen?"

Bella nodded as she took the cup of tea that Elijah offered while Jasper started to tell his story.

"You were right," he started. "Rebekah told me what you said after the wolves dismantled me, that I had been a victim, just like you. I'd known for a long time that the only reason I stayed with them was because of the support they gave me to get my bloodlust under control. Alice didn't love me. She pretended to, but we weren't happy. Everything was fine though, I mean, I had a family, and we all took care of each other. It was fun to see Edward failing to find a mate time and time again but, to be honest, he was quite picky. Then you came along, and Alice pressed Edward to bond with you. She had seen your compatibility with each other. I didn't like it, mostly because I started to see parallels between you and Edward and me and Alice back in the day."

Bella didn't say anything, she had promised to listen and that was what she was going to do.

"I suppose I should thank you for shifting everyone's attention to you so that I had more freedom to finally make my escape in a pure, selfish way. Edward and Alice were on top of you all the time, and even though they often requested my presence to help them manipulate you, I was free. I dared to make a plan or at least a part of it. I called Peter to help me out. I should have made the break earlier, but I couldn't. I wasn't sure I would survive without them, to be honest, but Peter said that I could and it took him a while to get that through my thick skull."

Bella thought for a moment and nodded. "Okay."

Jasper blinked at her. "Okay? That's it?"

"You knew what you were doing was wrong and yet you still did it to save your own skin and fly under their radar. So yes, okay," Bella took a sip of her tea as she looked at him. "I don't blame you. You had fifty odd years to realize that they were wrong and to think of a plan." She wasn't quite sure if the sarcasm filtered through that. She did blame him. He was a fucking vampire, and she was a human. He didn't have anything to be afraid of.

He smirked at her. "This school trip to New Orleans was the perfect opportunity to wean you off their drugs and off of my tampering. It was my job to pack the drug seeing as I was in charge of feeding the human. Much to my surprise you figured out on your own that things were wrong and started to rebel quite quickly after we got here. It's as if you opened up or whatever. I don't know."

"I knew something was wrong for a long time, especially after Edward broke up with me."

"You should never have gone to Italy for him."

Bella shrugged. "At least I get the pleasure to hurt him now." She was simply too tired to care if she had to be honest. Even though she was happy that he was still alive, new worries rose such as if he could be trusted. "Look, Jasper, I am glad that you're still alive, I really am. I realized too late myself that I should have gotten you out as well, and I felt guilty when I saw the wolves rip you to shreds. I am sorry you had to go through that pain and the pain of getting yourself back into one piece. I am sorry that you had to go to such lengths to escape them; it mustn't have been easy with a mind reader and a seer around."

"Bella, I-"

"Please, let me finish," she said when she saw Elijah open his mouth to say something and looked at Jasper. "I get it that you've been manipulated by them and that you survived. But that doesn't take away the fact that you manipulated me. You've messed around with my feelings, and I seem to remember that you participated in 'family time' which was more or less of a 'break Bella apart time'. What were you afraid of, Jasper? That they would kill you if you decided to stop doing their bidding? The mighty Major Whitlock afraid of a coven? You could have easily broken free before and left. Or killed them. Especially with the help of Peter, but you didn't."

Bella took a deep breath to calm herself, just in case something would break. "Part of me feels that I'm a bad person for hating you for what you've done, but the other part of me knows damn well that you could have done something sooner. You're a fucking vampire, for fuck's sake; it takes a lot to break you. You should feel thankful that I'm not destroying you myself."

When Jasper didn't respond, she got to her feet. "I want to thank you for not messing with my feelings just now and I will tolerate you. Hell, I will even help Kol and Davina with that spell they've been creating to turn you and Peter in vampires of flesh and blood because Klaus seems to like the idea, and I like Klaus. But you and I? It will take a lot for me trust you again. You have violated me and yet I haven't heard you apologize for it. Instead, you thanked me for diverting their attention away from you. So maybe I shouldn't feel bad for hating you, and at least you know where you stand." She then turned to Elijah. "If this conversation hasn't been to your liking then I'm sorry, but you told me to open up. This was me, opening up. May I be excused?"


	16. Ready

A/N: Lemon alert.

* * *

She woke up the following morning when she felt someone touching her legs. Not in a bad way, there were hands gently massaging her calves, and the pain disappeared. She giggled and wiggled her feet when Kol's gentle hands took her foot. "What are you doing?" She asked sleepily before turning her head to look at him. She then sniffed the air and wrinkled her nose. "Lavender?"

Kol smiled at her. "Good morning to you too. Yes, lavender. I adjusted the recipe I picked up from a shaman in Uganda seeing as the original recipe smelled like something that had died. Plus, it was less spreadable.."

"Recipe?"

"Magic, Cuddles," he grinned and leaned forward to kiss her before resuming his task of massaging her foot. "You were kicking about all night. Could have been muscle spasms, but either way, I thought your legs and feet deserved a break if only temporary."

Bella sighed happily. "You're too perfect, thank you."

"Ah, you deserve it. My brothers and Marcel have been working you hard in the last week and a half," he said with a slight hint of anger in his voice. "Of course, they refused to listen to me and Rebekah when we objected."

"It's fine."

"Rebekah did some neck snapping yesterday after finding out that you were dumped in the Bayou, again."

"She didn't have to do that," she moaned into the pillow. Kol knew how to give a good foot rub! The lower part of her body felt so light and painless that it was heaven, and it had been a while since she felt that way. Even long before she came back to New Orleans with Kol, she always felt as if there was lead in her shoes. His hands felt magical, and she couldn't help but moan again when he repeated the movement.

He just had to be sure he had heard what he thought he did, and her moaning sounded like music to his ears. He had deliberately started with her legs and feet while she was sleeping as it was less intrusive than his hands on her back. It was also safer for him, he found it was easier to see things less sexual when starting with what sometimes was the ugliest part of a woman, but Bella definitely had sexy legs.

It had already been a turn on last night when she'd forgone on her boxers and was just wearing her knickers and one of his shirts - one of his shirts -. However, before he could instigate anything, she'd been out like a light. That was one of the main reasons why he hated his siblings right now. He had barely gotten any time with Bella at all over the last week and a half apart from witchy training with him and Davina.

Kol playfully ran his hands up her leg as he scooted up towards her. He had planned to stop when he reached her ass, but it looked too inviting and could not help but to give it a squeeze, causing Bella to giggle. "You're such a girl," he snickered.

She rolled on her back and pulled him close to her to kiss him while she fisted his shirt with her free hand so he would stay right where he was. For some reason she felt great - no, she felt more than great and she knew the reason. Telling Jasper exactly how she felt about him had made her feel lighter, and she was proud of herself for having done so. It showed her that she could be a fierce lioness instead of a meek lamb, and she loved the feeling of it. It was something she could get used to.

He laughed when he lost his balance and managed not to topple on top of her. "That's one hell of a kiss, Cuddles."

Bella huffed as she turned around to kiss him again. "Then why stop?"

"I fell over, didn't I?" Kol snorted as he gently pulled her on top of him, hands firmly on her ass to keep her in place. "Look at you, so tiny I could fit you in my pocket."

She started to blush. "I'm not that short."

"I didn't say you were short; I said you were tiny," he grinned as he caressed a strand of hair out of her face. "You are so beautiful," he said in awe. "Inside and out, and yet, you like to spend time with me. That's amazing."

"Don't sell yourself short, mister," The color on Bella's cheeks deepened as she ran her hand through his hair, and she looked at him. "You turn heads wherever you go and no matter what most of your siblings or decades long acquaintances say, you are a decent and beautiful person on the inside with a wicked sense of humor."

"I'm not selling myself short, darling," he smirked and softly kissed her lips. "I find myself to be an awesome person, and I don't care about whatever they might say about me, I'll prove people otherwise anyway." When he saw the annoyed look on Bella's face, he laughed. "I swear, it's the best attitude you can have. People having a low opinion of you means you can be invisible and awesome in secret. It's much like a secret superpower or something."

"It's not right."

"Comes with the territory of being a thousand years old," he muttered before kissing her again. "Too many memories."

"Yeah well, you live in the now now," she straddled his waist and kissed him tenderly from her spot on top of him. Without thinking, really. She didn't care. "With me," she then hesitated but knew she shouldn't, he did feel the same way, didn't he? "Or someone else…"

"Oh, with you, definitely," he snorted and softly kissed her, liking the feeling of her sitting on top of him. Something had changed within her, for the better, and he could see that. He also loved it that she'd become freer in how she was with him. She surprised him yesterday by stripping in front of him while he was walking around naked. If he had to be honest, he wouldn't mind seeing her naked again and kiss every inch - every inch - of her body. "Why would I want someone else when I can have you? I will always choose you."

Bella hummed and thought for a moment before deciding to be bold and snuck one of her hands underneath his shirt, causing Kol to let out an 'ah!' and his body to spasm. "Ticklish?" Bella laughed as she placed her hand on his stomach. "I was barely touching you!"

"I… ah…"

"You can't tell me you're ticklish. You walked around naked yesterday; surely you must have brushed against something that could tickle."

"I'm not ticklish," he replied as he looked at her. "Not at all," he then mirrored what she had done, but she was ticklish and squealed in delight. He had to think quick as for her not to fall off of him and the bed and flopped her on her back instead, pinning her between him and the mattress. "You, on the other hand, are."

Bella nodded with a smirk on her face. "Exploit that and you'll be sorry."

"Oh, really?" He said in barely a whisper as he gazed into her eyes.

She bit her lip and nodded as she looked back at him.

"Wow, look at you," he said huskily as he shifted a little so he wouldn't topple on top of her by accident. "You're so incredibly smitten with me," he then softly started to kiss her neck after brushing away a strand of her hair. "A beautiful, smitten kitten right underneath me, it must be my lucky day."

Shivers ran through her body as she felt his lips on her neck, and she didn't even yelp when his hand found his way under her shirt again. Instead, she welcomed the feeling of his hand on her skin as it moved slowly over her stomach. When he accidentally grinded his groin against hers, she couldn't help but moan and buck her hips in response, who knew she was so sensitive down there? And who knew it would feel that good? The slight pressure of him against her turned her shivers into sparks, and she wanted more.

Oh fuck, Kol thought as he stopped kissing her neck and looked at her again. He had felt her body responses to his actions - not that he had done a lot - and he had planned on not taking it too far. But he knew that he had to get his rocks off because he might combust one of these days and her… well… it was time she lost that little bit of innocence… "D'you trust me, Cuddles?"

Was it going to happen? Now? In the middle of the day? Seriously? She couldn't think of a better way to spend her day with Kol, but she wasn't prepared for this. She always assumed he'd talk to her about it first. Bella mentally chastised herself. For all she knew Kol needed her trust for something completely different. "Always," she managed to sound resolute. She did trust him.

"Because," he whispered in her ear, his lips pressed against it. "I think you're ready for another little experiment," he continued. "We can stop at any point you like, okay?"

"What if I don't want to stop?"

"All the better," he said with a grin as he looked at her again. "Let's bring in some heat…" he muttered a spell that got rid of the fabric they were wearing with tiny little sparks. He could feel how it tingled against his skin, his cock already twitching with anticipation.

She gasped when her shirt and her underwear dissolved in little sparks. Although little, she could feel how the energy surged through her body and she couldn't help but to lick her lips as she looked at him in anticipation. She made a mental note of the spell; it could come in handy the next time. Clothes could be replaced, and it saved so much time.

"Do whatever you feel like, don't hold back," he said as he nuzzled her earlobe and started to kiss his way down her neck as his hand traveled up to her breast.

She didn't know what to do with her hands. His back was too far away from her, and all she could do was either to place them on his shoulders. She was afraid she'd push him away. She could bury her fingers in his hair, holding him in place. She chose the latter as her body arched itself into him when he reached her breast and softly kneaded it. Her whole body already felt as if it was on fire; he was only making it worse, and it felt so good. Bella moaned when he started flicking his tongue against her nipple.

Kol loved how responsive she was to his attention. All he did was something completely basic, and she loved it. There was no need to have her on a table, spread out for him to plunge into - although he might want to try it with her - or to have to push her up against a wall for ultimate depth. This, the both of them in bed, was even better. When he was certain that she was truly okay with him kissing and licking all over her body, he pressed the palm of his hand against her core, causing her to moan again. It was damp and radiating with heat. She was turned on alright.

She gasped when she could feel Kol slip a finger inside of her while he had resumed worshipping her neck. It felt weird, foreign and she wasn't quite sure if it should be in there in the first place but when what felt like his thumb pressed against the little nub in the center, she had already forgotten what she was thinking about.

It was slightly frustrating for him to take his time with her, even though she completely deserved it. It just sucked that she was a virgin when he wanted instant release and didn't want to scare her away from sex for the rest of her life. He needed to do this proper. Well, if he would do it properly, he would make her orgasm before he'd take her. But he was too impatient for it. Kol sucked on her nipple when he put a third finger in. He had found that over stimulating Bella's senses worked wonders so far. He had thought she would question or analyze everything she did, but he could tell that she was blissfully unfocused, her knees already trying to keep him in place.

"And now… for my next trick…" he whispered in her ear as he removed his fingers from her, causing her to whine a little bit. "I'll try to do this slowly because I don't want you to be in too much discomfort but if I'm going too fast… tell me, okay?"

"I trust you," she whispered back as she could feel Kol shift on the bed and wrapping her legs around his waist, lifting her off the mattress just a little. Not much later she felt something big pressing into her, and she realized that Kol's fingers had been inside of her to open her up, at least a little bit. While he was fully focused on trying not to hurt her, she felt as if she was splitting in half, but it felt good too, and that was a little bit confusing.

Just as he thought. He had stopped distracting her, and he could see the cogwheels in her head go into overdrive. It was adorable. So fucking adorable and distracting at the same time. Shifting just a little bit, he was comfortable enough to plant a kiss on her collarbone before playfully scraping his teeth over it as he slid in deeper as a result of Bella bucking her hips into him in surprise.

There was an earthquake. Or at least it felt like an earthquake, sounded like an earthquake with the sound of the dressers shaking, amongst other things, but it was all in her head. Of course it was. Why would there be an earthquake at the exact time she was having sex with Kol? He felt so good inside of her, yes, it was a little bit painful, but that was because it was something new but damn. She managed to find her voice somewhere underneath the rubble of the earthquake in her mind. "You feel so good…"

"Oh, I know I do, Cuddles," he breathed against her neck as he had stalled, giving her a few moments to get used to the sensation. "Are you okay?"

"Uhuh."

"You're so hot," he said huskily. He meant it. Not just because they were having sex and because she looked completely out of it, but in everything that she did. "I'm going to continue now, alright?" He wasn't sure if he was going to hold back any longer.

"Okay," she sighed happily as she pulled him in for a kiss. She moaned against his lips when he started to move inside of her, slowly at first but quickly picking up the pace. Soon, they had to break the kiss for air, and the earthquake was back again. This time she could hear things getting knocked over, plates or frames or whatever as she got lost in the sensations her body was making her experience. Bella felt around for his shoulders as she tried to steady herself for some reason but failed, and instead fisted the sheets underneath them.

He wanted her to take him over the edge, to make him shatter apart and fly against the ceiling, but he was nearly there and she wasn't just yet. He reached between them and rubbed his fingers against her clit, causing her little noises to become louder, more desperate for a release. When she did, he could feel a massive amount of energy discharge from the both of them as her muscle spasms took him with her.

It took a lot of him not to fall on top of her after they came back crashing to the earth and managed to lie down next to her before taking her in his arms, both trying to catch their breath. When he opened his eyes, he could see that they had actually expressed some magic during their little romp; the whole room was in bits and pieces as everything had come crashing down, and he had to laugh. "Oh, wow."

Bella had blinked at him for a moment before he nodded towards the room, and she saw the devastation. "Uh…"

"At least we didn't break the bed," Kol said with a grin before Bella yelped as they fell to the floor, mattress and all. "I spoke too soon." He said, roaring with laughter.

The door flung open and Bella didn't know how fast she had to cover herself up as Rebekah, Klaus and Elijah were standing in the door opening, looking at the scene in front of them in shock, amusement and bemusement.

"Out," Kol said as he pushed his siblings out the door with his magic and then burst into laughter when he saw the look of horror on Bella's face. "Relax, Cuddles," he said while laughing as he pulled her into his arms and laid back down again with her. "They're just as shocked as we are with the devastation of the room; I'm sure."

"They can't just… walk in when we've just… and are…"

"Prude."


	17. The Twilight Zone

**A/N: **Dear guest who asked me if I was alright; yes. Yes I am, thank you :) I had some difficulty writing another chapter for this story and I didn't allow myself to post this chapter until the other one was done. I hope that this chapter will satisfy your addiction for a few more days xxx

* * *

She'd been in New Orleans now for a month. A whole month working on her magic and getting physically stronger (she was glad that Elijah had stopped their 'therapy sessions' and that Marcel stopped dumping her in the Bayou). There was never a dull moment.

She even had to put an alert on her phone to remind herself to call Charlie because she had forgotten a few times and received an earful from Billy, who called instead. It saddened her to hear that Jessica and Tyler were missing, but maybe they had fallen in love and decided to run off together? The other scenario would be too fucked up for Bella even to consider, but she didn't fully rule out that the Cullens had something to do with their disappearance.

Davina and Kol were still trying to figure out a spell that would turn Peter and Jasper, but Bella didn't see the use of that happening, really. The only perk of that would be that Jasper was easy to kill, but Klaus seemed to like the two, very much so and the other vampires had accepted them for who they were. Both Peter and Jasper took the jokes with a grain of salt. She was pleased, however, that the both of them had switched to blood bags for food as their venom could harm someone, and Jasper seemed to be doing well on that. Bella still didn't trust him though. It was going to take more time, and he kept his distance.

Bella and Kol finally managed not to break anything else during the last time they had sex, much to the relief of Klaus and Rebekah. Kol had created a monster though; Bella loved having sex, liking the experience very much but because of that nifty spell she had run out of things to wear. She only had one pair of jeans left, and that was frustrating. So while Kol was out taking care of something for Klaus, Bella decided to venture into New Orleans by herself and do the horrible act of shopping. She still had plenty of money left from her savings but opted out of buying jeans for now.

The thought horrified her, but the heat made it uncomfortable to wear, and summer dresses were a little cheaper, but whoever made them, didn't think that muted colors would be a good thing. She opted for some skirts, not too short, and a few new tops and was pleased with what she'd bought - she was certain that Kol was going to like it too. She snorted and shook her head as she was walking down the street in search of coffee. Since when did it matter if Kol liked something she wore? She was such a girl!

When she sat down for a coffee, she checked her bank balance and sighed. She needed to get a job but how was she going to have a regular work schedule when she was either having fun or being educated? She could cut down on the fun but where was the fun in that? She was going to have to talk to Kol about this.

Bella looked up from her phone when she heard someone greet her and smiled. "Hi Davina," she said as she put her phone away.

"Can we talk?" Davina had her serious face on and she looked a bit tired.

"Are you okay?" Bella said with a nod and pointed at the empty chair across the table. "You look tired."

"Yeah… I haven't slept, but that's because I was trying to work on the spell to turn your friends into …"

"Not my friends," Bella shook her head. "And I thought you and Kol worked on that together?"

"Oh, we do!" Davina smiled widely at the mention of Kol's name. "But we were missing a key part of the spell that only I could provide. Or at least I thought I could."

It surprised Bella that Davina came to her about this. While she had gotten better quite decent in the last month; she was in no way experienced. She was halfway her 'for dummies' books and she only knew what Davina and Kol had taught her so far. "And you think I know anything?"

"No. You don't know anything, but that's not what my problem is. The spell requires such power that can only be created by forms of magic that my Ancestors, the New Orleans witches, frown upon. They forbid it," she then smiled with a shrug. "I used to not care about it because of the Harvest and left the coven and stuff, but my magic is still bound by them. If I cross the line, they might take my magic away and I'm sorry, but I don't like Klaus that much. It's not like the spell is a necessity anyway. It's just one for esthetics."

Bella slowly nodded. "And for the safety of everyone else," she said as she rubbed the scar on her wrist. "Their venom not only hurts, but if left untreated, the human could turn into a vampire."

"I don't understand why Klaus doesn't just destroy them. I mean, Jasper was one of them, wasn't he?"

"It's complicated. I think they asked for asylum, so they're under his protection, and he wants that spell done." She took a sip of her coffee. "So, why come to me? I share your Ancestors."

"Yeah, a couple of generations but from what I can tell, you're not bound by the same rules because you're special."

"I'm not-"

"Bella, please," Davina said as she rolled her eyes. "I know how great you are at ignoring the facts and stating the obvious, but you must have heard all the buzz that's going around the witches? They're afraid of you. Yes, you're a Claire witch but rumor has it you hold so much power that-"

"Davina," Bella stopped her before she'd say something annoying. Yes, she'd heard whispers. Hell, Kol told her about those whispers but it was stupid. There was no way that she was as rare as everyone thought she was. Or as powerful. She had magic mishaps because she was untrained and tried to learn how to do magic at the same time as controlling it. She could not wait for the day where she'd prove everyone wrong by being not as "special" as they claimed. Special needs, maybe.

She huffed. "Fine. But like I said, you're probably not bound by the same rules as I am because the majority of my Ancestors are here. Yours are scattered all across the globe, and you hold all of their untapped magic inside of you. If I'm right, you could do the spell without any dire consequences."

"But?" She wasn't sure if she even wanted to.

"We need to be sure, so… could you come with me to Lorraine Jenkins? She's a spiritual medium and-"

"A medium?" Bella blinked at the girl. "That's all fake, isn't it? They're not real."

"I bet that's what you thought about vampires, werewolves and witches too!" Davina countered with a smile on her face. "Come on, this will be a great opportunity for you to learn about yourself too, what you can do, where you come from… What's in your future…"

"And we have to go to a medium for that?" Bella raised her eyebrow. "How do you contact your Ancestors?"

"Through a spell," Davina said with a shrug. "It's easier because they're all in New Orleans anyway."

"And I can't use the same spell because the generations leading up to the ones buried here aren't buried here," Bella said with a sigh and pinched the bridge of her nose. "Isn't there another way?"

"You just don't want to go to the medium."

"No," she shook her head. "If she's as real as you say, I'd rather not have her learn all about me." Bella knew she was being paranoid but after her experiences with the Cullens, she wanted to keep her things close to her chest. She shared stuff with Kol, but that was because she trusted him. He had earned that trust.

"I don't know if there's another way. I mean, sure, we can go ahead with the spell with you performing it, but what if the rules apply to you too? You'll get punished."

"I'll talk to Kol about this when he gets back, maybe he has some ideas." She didn't want to anger the Ancestors either, but for a completely different reason; Kol. Granted, she only knew Rebekah's version of Kol's magical resurrection as Kol hadn't talked about it. He probably wasn't going to - and Bella wasn't going to ask - but chances could be that if they'd poke the bear, something could happen to Kol. "What kind of magic is needed for the spell?"

Davina sighed and leaned towards Bella as if they were conspiring. "The way that the spell could work is through sacrificial magic. We'd have to steal the life of another being to breathe new life into the Cold Ones."

"Shouldn't be a problem seeing as without a doubt, we'll kill a few Cold Ones when they finally try to come and get me."

"Yeah, but even if we make the spell out of defensive purposes, which is a brilliant idea, by the way, to use that power to change them, it's still sacrificial magic. You use a person to change another."

"And you're sure there's no other way around it?"

"Bella, what do you think we've been doing in the last month?" Davina said with a smile as she sat back up. "The spell was pretty easy to find and to adjust and what not. We've been trying to find a way to work around the bumpy bits, but we can't just turn a dark magic spell into something light. I just want to know if you're allowed to work around the bumpy bits; that's all."

Bella finished her coffee. "I understand, and I know that we're probably short of time, but I'm not going to visit a medium until I've spoken to Kol about this."

"He won't like it that I've dragged you into this," Davina said with a pout.

"You dragged me into this? How about I dragged everyone else in this?" She retorted with a snort and gathered her bags after paying for her coffee. "You have nothing to worry about. I'll let you know what happens."

When Bella came back to the Compound, she found Klaus pinning Kol against the wall and both in a shouting match. What baffled her most was that Kol was letting it happen.

"If you weren't such a human, I would have-"

"Daggered me? Yeah, tough, Niklaus!" Kol spat at his brother. "Go on then, kill me."

"Does your girlfriend know you're suicidal?" Klaus sneered as he knocked his brother against the wall again. "Stay away from Hayley, Jackson, and my daughter. That part of the family dynamic is not for you to concern yourself with. I will break every one of your limbs the next time. Have I made myself clear, brother?"

"But Hope, she could be-"

"Hope is a just baby, Kol. I will not allow you to use her for a spell. You have your special witch, you don't see me wanting to use her for my gain, do you? She's yours."

Bella cleared her throat as she looked at the brothers while she was standing there with her bags, raising an eyebrow at Klaus. She stared at him long enough for him to release Kol, who had a big smirk on his face as he made his way over to Bella. When he was close, she punched him in the arm. "Using babies for magic?"

"She's a tribrid, Bella; she's powerful and-"

"A baby!"

"But…"

"If you're worried about that spell, Davina talked to me about it and you and I need to talk." She looped her arm through his and glared at Klaus as they walked to their room. "If you hurt him, Klaus, I will rip you apart myself."

"Would be fun to see you try, love!"

Bella growled as she turned around and with a quick motion of her hand, she flung Klaus against the wall he had just pinned Kol against. She then pulled Kol into the room, while Klaus roared with laughter behind them. She threw her bags on the bed and just stared at him for a while. "Are you okay?" She asked after giving him a good lookover. "He didn't hurt you that much, did he?"

Kol shrugged. "Nothing I can't handle, darling," he fleetingly kissed her before turning around to nose around in her bags. "Oh! Skirts! See? I knew you'd give up on your jeans obsession once you'd get here."

"Hey!" She tried to push him away from her bags, but he firmly held his place, using his height as an advantage to keep her from the bags. "Kol, come on, leave those bags alone."

"We should definitely have more sex so you can buy more clothes."

Bella stopped pushing as she looked at him. "We're not going to have sex for a while because you wanted to use Hope for a spell."

"What?" Kol whined as he dropped the bags and turned to her. "You can't do that!"

"Watch me." She sat down in a chair, crossed her legs and arms and looked at him. "Davina wanted to take me to a medium today to see if I can do your spell."

"I told her not to ask you," Kol muttered as he sat down on the bed, toying with one of Bella's new shirts.

"Why?"

"Because I don't want you to get hurt or do something you don't really want to do."

"And you didn't bother to ask me first?"

"It's a complicated spell; you're not ready for that."

Bella grabbed a pillow and threw it at him. "That's because you and Davina take it easy on me. Make me ready for it. And there must be another way than visiting a medium to get the information we want."

"Of Course there is. Several, actually. The easiest would be with the help of a dark object and someone monitoring us for safety." When he saw the look of terror on Bella's face, he snorted. "The easiest and the fastest doesn't mean it's the safest. You wanted to be made ready; this would be a great way to see if you can handle that."

Jerk, she thought, but she wasn't going to back down either. "Fine."

"Great!" Kol jumped to his feet with a big, adventurous smile on his face. "Call your mother, ask her if she still has the names of your family tree and try to get the boy twin's mother. I'd ask Davina, but I don't want to involve her in this. I'm going to ask my sister to keep watch seeing as we both trust her."

"What are you going to do?"

"Trying to find that dark object."

Renée was more than willing to help Bella out for 'study purposes', curious as what Bella could discover about her family while she was in New Orleans. Her mother also talked about maybe coming over for a week with Phil when he was all rested up and out of his cast. Bella was a little apprehensive about that seeing as things weren't that easy to cover up around the Compound and would likely have her mom stay in a hotel.

When Bella eyed the list she had written down, she felt sick. The name of the twin boy that Davina had spoken about was Edward Alexander Higginbotham. Edward. Edward. Yes, she was well aware that Edward Masen hadn't been born in 1705 but the name seemed to haunt her everywhere. She closed her eyes, took a deep breath, and reminded herself that it was just a name. A stupid name.

Kol had retrieved the object he'd been looking for, and Rebekah joined them in their room after dinner. Bella was nervous about this, seeing as Kol had reminded her that this was dark magic, after all and that a lot of things would go wrong. Maybe the medium was not such a bad idea after all. "Maybe we shouldn't," she blurted once the door was closed.

"Alright, we won't," Rebekah said with a shrug. "But the Cullens and the Volturi are on our doorstep. We're running out of time."

"The spell isn't important for both of those things," Bella pointed out. "We need to do the spell for Klaus' benefit; that's all."

"But this is for your benefit as well, Cuddles," Kol spoke calmly as he noticed that Bella was on the verge of having a panic attack of some sorts. She certainly looked like it. "You can ask anything you wish when it comes to your powers if we find the right ancestor who knows things."

"What if it doesn't work? Or what if something happens?"

"It will work, and if something happens, Rebekah will pull us out," he took her hand and squeezed it. "We're doing this together. I'm going in with you, and I'll make sure you come to no harm."

"Going in?"

"You neglected to inform her of the fact that your spirit will be temporarily disconnected from your bodies?" Rebekah snorted as she sat down in a chair. "Classy."

"What?!" Bella squeaked.

"It will be alright, I promise," Kol didn't stop looking at Bella, but rather wished his sister dead right now. "I wouldn't do this myself if I thought it'd be that dangerous. It's tricky, yes, but there are far more dangerous and difficult spells out there. Trust me."

"I do but…"

"It will be alright, Cuddles," he repeated and softly kissed her. "The only thing that will probably be off-putting is that this body won't travel with us. You'll see me as I was. Before I died. Before mother put me into this body. My spirit doesn't match the body."

"That's going to be interesting," Rebekah smirked. "At least you'll be able to tell if she fell for your looks or not!"

"That would be interesting," Bella agreed and smiled at Kol. "Alright, let's do this."

"Oh sure. The spell freaks you out but to see what I looked like before this makes it interesting?"

"I've seen you on pictures, Kol."

"Right."

The spell took them to some waiting room type of room. It was empty, and there were no windows, there were benches, and it reminded her of the hospital. She shuddered as she wrapped her arms around her and looked for Kol, what were they supposed to do next? Would they be able to leave this room to make things more comfortable? The door swung open, and it made her turn to it, to see what was going on and Kol appeared with a big smile on his face. "Come on, Cuddles, what are you waiting for?"

"You, obviously," she replied as she walked over to him. She stopped a few steps before him to admire him with a big smile on her face. She didn't care much about how a person looked, Kol was a good man, but he was just as beautiful as his current body was. "Wow, pictures didn't do you justice," she took his hand as he pulled her out of the room into something that looked like a meadow. "Where are we?"

"We both know I look good, no matter what," he said with a smirk. "We are where we need to be, I just shaped the environment a little bit less harsh, that's all."

She nodded as she looked around. It looked much like the Bayou, for which she was grateful. Had Kol made it look like the forest surrounding Mount Olympus, she would have killed him once this was over.

"How this works… if a spirit wants to talk to you, they'll come out on their own. If not, all you have to do is call his or her name," he explained as he nodded towards some rustling bushes. "Heads up."

Bella blinked when she saw Kol - no, Kaleb - clear the bush, and she could feel how Kol tensed up. While Kol oozed self-confidence as he walked, Kaleb did not. He slouched as if he wanted to hide the fact that he was tall.

"You must be off your rocker to come here," Kaleb spoke as he eyed Kol and straightened himself up almost as if he had a short burst of bravery injected. "You have so many enemies around here and they all want a piece of you."

It was weird to hear him speak with an American accent, it just didn't compute in her head.

"I know that, thanks," Kol replied as he looked at Kaleb. "Look… I…"

"I should kick your ass," Kaleb's voice was cold and threatening. "You stole my life. You pretended to be me. Don't think I didn't know what was going on while you took my body for a ride."

Bella instinctively moved herself between Kol and Kaleb, even though both boys were nearly twice as tall as she was. Kaleb was not going to beat up her boyfriend. He'd have to go through her first - and yes, she thought of him as her boyfriend, even though they hadn't talked about the label yet.

"I am sorry," Kol replied calmly as he eyed Kaleb carefully. He wasn't going to shy away from a fight, but Bella had moved herself between them, and they were in the spirit world after all, a little respect would go a long way. "I took real good care of your body..."

"You got us into a bar fight with werewolves."

"Not my fault, mate."

"It was, indirectly. Then there was Davina hurting us. Your brothers... Hell, your own mother!"

Kol sighed as he relaxed his stance. If Kaleb wanted to hurt him, he'd done so already. "I am sorry that it happened. It wasn't by choice... Not much choice."

"No worries, dude," he said with a shrug and relaxed. "Am I pissed that my life got cut short? Sure. But I'm also grateful that your mother took me out of a miserable situation. I hate your brother for hexing us and resulting in my death. And yours, but you're obviously back and so is my body."

"You're alright with all of this?" Kol blinked at Kaleb.

"Oh, hell no! But what's the use of holding a grudge around here? I'm glad I ended up here and not oblivion since the Other Side is gone and all." He then turned to Bella and extended his hand. "Kaleb Westphall, your boyfriend has my body."

"Uhm, hi, sorry about that," Bella said as she blushed and shook his hand. "I'm Bella Swan."

Kaleb looked at Kol and smirked. "She's hot, dude. Well done!"

Kol grinned as he nodded. "She's lucky to have us."

He scoffed and shook his head. "You, maybe. Me? Not so much. Anyway, if you're looking for someone specific, you'd better call out their name or something because they're not coming, and you need to hurry."

"Shouldn't you be with the Ancestors, by the way?" Bella asked Kaleb, a little bit confused as they were in the spirit world, and Kaleb had been consecrated when he died.

Kaleb grinned and winked at her. "Just because I'm dead doesn't mean I stop breaking rules. I'd better go back before they notice I'm gone."

"Hey, can I pick your brain for a moment, Kaleb?" Kol asked him as he stopped him from returning to where he came from. "What do you know about the Claire family bloodline? About that story that was told for generations?"

"What? About the twin boy? Sounds like a fantasy to me," he shrugged as he stuffed his hands in his pockets. "I've heard the stories, but it sounds to me that it's purely made up. There's no way that magic could survive that long without being used; there's no way that someone could hold that magic until another girl came along without combusting."

"Well, it's true though," he nodded towards Bella. "Her mother was the magic vault; all the magic is now in her."

Kaleb's eyes grew big as he looked at Bella. "You're the descendant of Édouard Carlisle Alexandre Claire?"

Bella took a step back, so she was closer to Kol. First Edward, now Carlisle? Was the universe playing a dirty trick?

"The stories said he was taken into care in England and was forgotten after a name change. Look, the Claire witches were very powerful back in the day and your Davina still is, there aren't a lot of witches that can do what she does. I suppose there was a good reason she was chosen for the harvest…" Kaleb ran his hand through his hair as he looked at Bella. "Try find your ancestor and if he doesn't know anything, ask his mother, she's consecrated at the cemetery. If you're truly his descendant, you should be careful with your magic. Such power is difficult to harness."

"I'm doing quite alright, actually," Bella said smugly. What was it with men underestimating her? "I don't feel any different either."

"Huh. Interesting," Kaleb said with a nod. "Certainly something to think about." He then turned around. "Good luck, you two. Don't let me see your asses back here before your time or I will personally kick you back into a body of my choosing!"

They both watched as Kaleb walked back to where he came from and then Kol breathed a sigh of relief. "Well, that went well."

"That was interesting," Bella agreed as she looked up at him. "Are you okay?"

"Yeah," he smiled bravely. "It's just weird; that's all. I mean... I shouldn't feel guilty about it because that's not something I do... You know, feeling guilty... I may not have agreed with mother's methods, but I was grateful for another chance even if I took the one chance he had..." He sighed and shrugged. "It's complicated."

"That's what feelings are," she smiled at him and caressed his arm. "Complicated, messy and illogical and there's nothing wrong with feeling guilty, or at least a little bit guilty."

He shrugged again. "I'd rather not dwell on unpleasant feelings, how about you call out for your ancestor so we can return to our bodies and have sex?"

Bella grumbled as she looked down and shoved her hands in her pockets.

"Bella, it's just a name," Kol kissed the top of her head. "Do it. Call for him, I dare you."

She took a deep breath and nodded. "Edward Higginbotham, please come to meet me, I want to talk to you."

"See? You're a natural," he said proudly. "Polite and clear."

"What if he doesn't want to talk to us?"

"Well, then we pick another one or go back and ask his mother like Kaleb suggested, but she's an ancestor consecrated at the cemetery. I'd rather not ask her seeing as she'll say no."

"So what, though?"

"No, we're going to play nice with the ancestors," he laughed, liking her boldness. "Worst case scenario is that we'll have to talk to a witch in Mystic Falls. She doesn't like us much, but she can tolerate Elijah."

Bella nodded and saw someone emerge from the bushes. "Here we go."

"I am Ed Higginbotham, who are you?" The man sneered as he continued to approach them. "Why are you disturbing my peace?" Unlike Kaleb, who appeared wearing clothes Kol would wear, the man was dressed in clothes of his own time, slightly muddy and disheveled and he certainly wasn't pleasant.

"My name is Bella Swan, sir," she replied as she took Kol's hand for safety. "I'm your descendant."

"Rubbish. We do not get girls."

"So I've heard. My mom was the first one."

He blinked at her and took a step back. "Huh," he said with a nod, sounding quite surprised. "The stories were true then?"

"Pardon me for asking," Kol said as he looked at Ed. "But don't you dead people talk to each other?"

"Sure we do, but we do not reminisce on stories that were supposed to be just that," the man snapped at Kol before continuing in a more polite manner as he shifted his gaze to Bella. "I never believed my mother when she said that I was special and that something wondrous would happen in a hundred years or so… what year is it?"

"2012," Bella replied with a smirk.

"Blimey," the man scratched his head. "Time flies when you are dead, I suppose…"

"Aren't you supposed to be elsewhere, sir?" Kol tried, but Ed seemed to ignore him. "Seeing you're magical and all."

"Can he shut his gob?" Ed thumbed towards Kol after turning his back towards him but not towards Bella.

"He asks the right questions…" Bella said calmly. "You don't have to like it."

"Fine, fine," he grumpily replied. "I became a Higginbotham. I do not remember much of my magical family and my entire life I despised them for making me leave simply because I was a boy. When I was dying, I hoped to see them again but I did not have the fortune to do so. I was human upon my death as my magic transferred to my boy when he was born. I reckon that is how they managed to save the magic, somehow, I do not know. What did you come here to ask, little girl?"

"Am I bound by the rules the Ancestors of New Orleans, your mother, and every generation before her, or not?"

Ed started to laugh. "Sweetheart, you could wipe the floor with those ancestors as you hold generations of magic within you. You will be more powerful in New Orleans seeing as that is the place that holds my sister's family in the ground but simply put, you do not need them. You are not bound by their rules as technically you are not family, and you do not have a close ancestor buried and consecrated there." He replied with a smile on his face. "The only request that I have is that you use your magic wisely and with the purest of hearts. It is easy to let such power go to your head and use it for darkness. We, the discarded boys of the Claire family, did not suffer for you to throw it all away. Do good. Be good. Stay grounded." He had spoken clearly to Bella before he turned to Kol. "Keep her safe. Avoid covens who want to have her in their circle for her power, not for who she is."

"I will, sir," Kol said, nodding. "Don't you worry about that."

Ed was quiet for a moment as if he was lost in thought and then looked at the both of them. "It is time you two take your leave. You have been here too long, and enemies are at your doorstep. Go. Now," he warned them and pointed to a door that appeared out of nowhere.

"Thank you for your information, Ed," Bella smiled at him before she was being sucked out of the door once it opened, returning her to her body with a thud as she fell back on the floor. "Ow…"

"Thank God!" Rebekah exclaimed. "You've been gone for twelve hours! I had to watch over you all night, especially after the Volturi sent a messenger ahead out of courtesy to Nik. They're coming tonight."

"Good," Kol said as he helped Bella to her feet. "That gives us some time to nap and eat in the meantime."

"At least tell me you found what you were looking for." Rebekah said tiredly as she rubbed her eyes.

"Of course we did, sister," he smiled widely. "Now, out. Bella and I need to get some rest."


	18. Well done, little Swan

The spell had taken a lot out of the both of them, and Kol was happily snoozing away while he lay half on top of Bella and his legs all over hers. She wasn't uncomfortable, but she wasn't able to take a nap herself. Her head was still spinning with what she had experienced. The spell, meeting Kaleb and then Ed… While part of her was relieved that she didn't have to take the Ancestors into account, she was also scared because it was a lot of responsibility to police herself with something unfamiliar.

Before Kol had dozed off, he promised her that she shouldn't worry about anything, but she did. And to top it all off, the Volturi were coming. Bella was already wishing for Jane to try and hurt someone so she could finally do something about it.

"You're not napping," Kol muttered as he shifted a little against her. "Stop thinking."

"No."

Groaning, he looked up at her. "What is it, Cuddles?"

"Just the thing that Ed said…"

"About you being a magnificent, powerful witch? We've been telling you that."

"Yeah but it really hit home and now I'm scared."

He shifted again and softly started to kiss her neck. "It's good that you're scared, but you have nothing to fear. You're in good hands. Relax. Nap."

Bella sighed as she closed her eyes and was silent for a while. "I'm hungry."

Kol whined as he untangled himself from her and nudged her out of the bed. "Go eat. I'm staying here."

Bella was surprised to see Jasper on the first-floor walkway when she returned to the Compound with a box of pastries seeing as it was daylight. However, with the Volturi coming round, she shouldn't have been that surprised. She still didn't trust him, but he was the only one around who knew her for longer than anyone else and she wanted to talk to him. If anyone had a better insight on how she felt, it was him because he manipulated hers for a very long time.

She fished an éclair out of the box and started to eat it as she walked up the stairs. "Hey Jazz," she greeted him, automatically holding out the box of pastries to share, temporarily forgotten that he didn't eat human food. "Can we, uh… talk?"

"Of course, Bella," he smiled at her, kindly ignoring the box of goodies. She was grateful that he kept his disapproval of the sweet desserts to himself - if he disapproved at all, but Bella kept it in the back of her head anyway. He and his family used to control what she ate and now he didn't have that control anymore. "What's on your mind?"

"I'm scared."

"You're surrounded by vampires and werewolves, why are you scared? You have nothing to be afraid of when it comes to the Volturi, Bella."

"I'm not scared of them, Jasper, in fact, I'm hoping that Jane will try to hurt one of you guys. I can't wait to hurt her for once," she countered as she took another bite of her éclair and let the words sink in for a moment. "I'd appreciate it if you'd at least acknowledge my feelings instead of disregarding them."

He smirked as he leaned against the balustrade and looked at her. "Why are you scared?"

She put the box on a nearby table and started to pace back and forth as she munched on her éclair. It was hard to find the right words without actually transmitting her emotions to him but then again, he'd probably pick up on them anyway. "Have you ever felt as if you're in over your head? I mean…" she sighed as she continued to walk. "Imagine having this power inside of you that scares most people in the know and with knowledge of what that power could do and that the responsibility lies with you to control it and make sure you make the right decisions?"

Jasper gently put a hand on her arm to stop her from walking around and nodded. "I'm a vampire, of course I do."

"But you have the Volturi. If you do something out of line..." she then chuckled as she jumped on another train of thought. "Imagine the look on their faces when you're no longer a Cold One soon, though, it will be hilarious."

"They don't see everything," he replied with a smile. "I mean, sure, they see a lot but not everything. All of us are responsible to control ourselves, to control our bloodlust, to make sure we keep a low profile. If we don't, we get caught and destroyed. Interaction with beings who are fragile takes a lot of self-control too, I'm sure Edward told you that. I'm not telling you anything new."

She winced at the name and nodded. "But what if you lose control?"

"Then I lose control and have people help me to regain it," he let go of her arm. "So it's true then? You're not an ordinary witch?"

"I wouldn't call witches ordinary to begin with," she said with half a chuckle. "But most witches here in New Orleans gain their power from the Ancestors buried here and have to abide by their rules. Like… Kol and Davina can't perform the spell to change you and Peter, but I can."

"And you're afraid that you might go too far? That the responsibility of having this power is too much to deal with?"

Bella nodded. "I know I won't. I mean, I have Kol, and I'm glad that he knows what he's doing and he says it's nothing to be afraid of but…"

He caught her when she wanted to start pacing again and tripped over her own feet. Setting her back on her feet, he spoke again. "He's right. You're a funny little human with your panic attacks and your occasional rage but do you know what the source of those are?"

She shook her head as she pushed her hair out of her face and looked at him.

"You have a big heart, Bella," he smiled at her. "And it's beautiful and you get worked up about stuff when you care too much about something or someone. You think your emotions are out of control, and I think that's mainly my fault, but they aren't. You don't have to be scared of your power, Bella. Because I know that everything that happened in the beginning of you growing into your new power - the destruction - ties within the fact that you went through an adjustment phase where you felt again. Really felt. Not artificial feelings manipulated by either drugs or me."

She blinked at him, the words making sense. "So it's your fault then."

"Yes," he nodded. "My manipulation is the reason you lost control."

"And yet, you're still not sorry."

"Would it help if I told you I was?"

"I don't know…" Bella replied with a sigh and turned to her box to get another pastry out of it. "Can we try?"

"Sure," he smiled at her when she turned around again. "Bella, please accept my sincere apologies for what I have done to you. I'm sorry that I manipulated your feelings so much and made sure you were compliant for the rest of my- for the rest of them. I am sorry that I broke your trust and ruined our friendship. I am sorry that I used your predicament to get out of my own. You were right. I'm a vampire, and I should have done something earlier and not use a human to my advantage."

"Thank you, that means a lot, Jasper."

"Did it make you feel better, darlin'?"

She sighed and shook her head as she took a bite out of the dessert she was holding. "No, but I appreciate it though."

"What I did… what they did, is unforgivable. That's why I didn't apologize because it wouldn't work. I know you, remember?"

She nodded and took a deep breath. "Thank you for listening to me and my rambles."

"Always, Bella, you know that."

She nodded again and grabbed her box with pastries. "I'll see you in a bit."

When she got back to the room, Kol was lightly snoring. She set the box on the table and grabbed her French for Dummies book. She had almost finished with it, and she found it was a beautiful, but complicated language. It did help a lot with the pronunciation of some spells, so there was that.

After a while, Kol woke up and sleepily joined her at the table where he tucked into a beignet. "I don't understand you're not even remotely sleepy."

"I have other things on my mind," she smiled at him. "But it's better now. I'll sleep tonight."

"Oh yes, the magic of pastries," he nodded in agreement.

"And Jasper."

"You spoke to him?"

Bella nodded. "I needed him to tell me that what I was feeling was irrational and he did. I'm more than equipped to deal with being a witch."

"Of course you are, Cuddles," Kol softly kissed her. "I know you are."

"I know… but…"

"Let's change the subject," Kol said as he took another pastry.

"We're going to have dinner soon with your brother, are you really going to eat another one?"

"How many did you have?"

Bella blushed and waved her hand. "Too many. Go on, eat on."

She was glad that during dinner Marcel wasn't there. It was just the siblings and her. Klaus and mostly Elijah talked about how they were going to handle the Volturi while she was mainly pushing her food around on her plate with her fork. Not because the food wasn't delicious - Klaus always managed to compel a great cook. She kept offering for her to cook for all of them - or that she wasn't hungry due to too many pastries, but just because she could. Sort of?

She wasn't sure. She wasn't worried about the Volturi anymore for several reasons. One, she was a witch now, and she could make sure that they wouldn't touch her or anyone at all. Two, Cold Ones were quite lame vampires compared to the ones she had been hanging around with. Three, they sparkled in sunlight, which made it just easier to laugh at them.

No, she wasn't scared. She just wanted everything to be done with, so she could start living again. Maybe tempt Kol into going somewhere else, like… Disneyland. Or, if preferred, something more badass and go camping. She'd need a job for that, to save up because even though she didn't need to wish for anything, just ask, she kept it to the necessities like not paying for her food.

She smirked as an idea came to mind. It was cruel and probably not a good idea, but she could always force anyone of the Cullens to hand over one of their millions. It wasn't as if they were going to use it after they destroyed them. And it wasn't as if she didn't deserve it either, especially after their treatment.

"What I'm more interested in at the moment is the reason why Bella has a devious smile on her face," Kol's voice pulled her off her train of thought as she met his eyes and smirked. "What are you thinking about, darling?"

"I'm fantasizing, that's all."

"Oh?" He leaned on the table with his elbow and put his head in his hand. "Care to enlighten me?" He asked as he suggestively wiggled his eyebrows.

"We're trying to eat here," Rebekah rolled her eyes at her brother.

"We're not doing anything but eat, sister," Kol replied with a smirk as he briefly looked at her before turning his attention back to Bella. "How interesting is your fantasy?"

Bella shrugged as she took a sip of her soda. "Not that interesting, just a fun idea that could lead to more fun to be had without exhausting your family's resources." She snorted when all four siblings rolled their eyes simultaneously. "What? At least I'm not thinking about getting a job, something you think of as dull!"

"We don't think it's dull, little dove," Rebekah said with a smile on her face. "It's unnecessary. We keep telling you that."

"Isabella values some form of independence. Whatever she's thought of, I am sure it will be beneficial to her." Elijah replied simply.

"I hope so, this needing a job nonsense is getting tiresome," Klaus remarked as he shoved his plate out in front of him and then looked towards the door as Marcel entered. "Ah, I take it our guests have arrived?"

"Yep. There's seven of them. Jasper identified them as the three leaders and four members of the guard."

"Which ones?"

"Jane, Alec, Demetri and Felix."

Bella groaned. Of course, they took Felix with them. "Well, it's official, you scare the shit out of the Volturi, Klaus. If it comes to a fight, Felix is one to look out for."

Klaus smirked as he looked at Marcel. "We'll meet them shortly, we're just finishing up our dinner." He waited until Marcel took his leave and then looked at Bella. "They have nothing to fear from us, Bella. I intend to have this meeting end on a positive note. If not, I'm always in for a good fight," he said with a big smile on his face.

"Yes, but let us at least try to stay civil, Niklaus," Elijah said sobering. "We have been coexisting with their kind for a very long time and I do not wish our relationship to end."

"Nevertheless, it will be a short meeting once Marcus identifies our relationship to Bella," Klaus said with a shrug. "If he doesn't, I am certain he will pick up on the relationship between our brother and her."

"We shall see, but please, Niklaus, don't cast the first stone."

She knew she had no reason to be scared of the Volturi. She kept reminding herself that as they descended the stairs into the courtyard. She had wedged herself between Rebekah and Kol, and Peter and Jasper kept an eye out from the balcony. She was safe. Should something happen, she was more than capable enough to make sure nobody got hurt.

"Marcus, Aro, Caius, how nice of you to drop by," Klaus greeted them as he kept the fountain between them. "To be honest, I was expecting you a little bit sooner, are you getting slow in your old age?"

Aro smiled politely. "We would have, Mr. Mikaelson, had it not been for the numerous of uncontrolled newborns roaming the country that left my guard scattered to clean up the mess. You wouldn't happen to know anything about that, do you?"

"I had no hand in that," Klaus replied as he crossed his arms over his chest. "Why are you here?"

"Mr. Mikaelson, you are aware of the laws we live by, are you not?" Aro said as he peeked over Klaus' shoulder to look at Bella. "Our society is shrouded in secrecy and contact with humans - apart from using them as food - should be restricted to the bare minimum so they won't find out about us."

"I think that's a funny little rule, completely preposterous seeing as we live among them. Of course there will be humans who will find out about who we are and what we do."

"Ah, yes, but unlike you, we do not have the ability to compel someone to forget about us," he countered with a smile on his face. "It was promised to us that Bella would become one of us to keep her alive, sort to speak. Or she'd die. She caused quite the scene when we tried to kill her mate. Surprised us all with her willingness to die for him." He looked over Klaus' shoulder again as he continued. "We are merely here to see the agreement has been settled and if not, to rectify what's lacking."

Bella nearly broke Kol's hand, she could feel how hard she was squeezing it, and he wasn't responding to the pain if it even hurt him. She had agreed to Klaus and Elijah talking to the Volturi while she stood by, but she wanted to throw them all across the courtyard and out of the gates. There was no way she was going with them.

"There's no need for that," Klaus said as he moved so he blocked Aro's view of Bella. "She's under my protection."

Aro smirked. "Even so, our laws need to be obeyed. She knows too much."

"With all due respect," Elijah spoke up and joined his brother. "She has suffered from your kind for too long, the laws no longer apply to her."

"Interesting, please, tell me more. We hold the Cullen coven in the highest regard." Bella could tell that Aro tried to ignore Caius' snickering. "They are quite the interesting family."

"How about we let a former member of the coven show you what they did to her." Elijah said as he gestured for Jasper to come down. "You are telepathically gifted, are you not?"

She could see the self-serving smirk on Klaus' face as Jasper jumped down and sauntered his way over to Aro, holding out his hand. He wasn't reluctant, it was as if it was planned. Aro seemed to be at a loss of words at the sight of Jasper and Felix had taken a few steps closer to his master in case Jasper would do something they'd regret.

"Now, remember, Jasper, show him the whole picture and leave nothing out," Klaus reminded him before Aro took Jasper's hand in his.

It didn't take long for Aro to be done with Jasper, and when he was, he had an amusing smile on his face. "Well, well… it seems that our dearest Carlisle has a dark side after all." He then spoke in Italian to Marcus and Caius, who both nodded in return before he turned back to face Klaus and Elijah. "Their unfortunate misconduct towards Bella does not take away that her knowledge about us is vast; the law is still in place."

"We would have to confer to judge about Jasper Whitlock's situation, whether he should be allowed to live or to be destroyed, but please, hand us Bella Swan and there won't be any trouble," Caius added.

"Are they always this singular minded?" Kol whispered to Bella, who just stared in shock at the Volturi. "Cuddles." He gently elbowed her to make her look at him. "Don't worry, my brothers won't allow it."

"Miss Swan is under my protection," Klaus repeated himself. "She's living under my roof and she's my brother's mate. She's in constant contact with vampires, werewolves, hybrids and witches, and you're telling me that you're afraid that she knows too much?"

"We had an agreement."

Bella realized too late that Jane was up to something, and it wasn't until Kol doubled over in pain that she knew what was happening. She imagined reaching into Jane's body and grabbing her insides to turn her inside out before she shot her hand out, causing Jane to double over and releasing Kol. "Leave him alone!" After releasing Jane, she turned around to check Kol over, but he seemed to be doing alright apart from being a little shaken. She was going to fully check him over once they got back to their room.

"Miss Swan is a supernatural being herself; that agreement is rendered void, wouldn't you say?" Elijah said, a hint of smugness in his voice.

"That's an interesting development, indeed," Aro said with a nod as he looked over at Jane, who was looking at Bella with a murderous look on her face after she was released. "Very well," he said as he turned back to Klaus and Elijah. "We will not come after the girl as long as she's under your protection and your brother's mate."

"As for the fate of Jasper Whitlock, we shall be back once we've discussed it," Caius spoke calmly, which resorted in Klaus snorting.

"Until next time," Aro said as the three Volturi turned around in unison and spat away, followed by their guard.

"Well," Klaus smiled widely as he turned and looked at them. "What's next?"


	19. Brand New Day

A/N: The French in this chapter has been translated with Google Translate and my high-school knowledge of the language. So it might not be accurate enough to be proper French.

Thank you to Lorelei Candice Black for the correct French sentences :-) 3

* * *

She had spent the entire week trying to learn the spell that would transform Jasper and Peter into regular vampires. Regular. The word was quite stupid, there wasn't anything regular about vampires. Dead people surviving mostly off of blood. Immortal. 'Regular vampire' in this case meant, no longer a cold one. No longer indestructible, no longer a bigger threat to humans than other vampires in New Orleans and most importantly; easier to kill should they get out of hand.

Bella particularly liked the last bit. While she had spoken to Jasper on occasion, she couldn't help but feel that she couldn't trust him. She could trust him when she needed her feelings sorted out because he knew them better than she did, but other than that, she didn't trust him. Peter was an enigma wrapped in another. It was hard to get a sense of him, although she had to admit that everything that Edward had told her about him was wrong. He kept Jasper balanced and out of trouble and stayed out of trouble himself.

However, she was sure that once she made them into normal vampires that she was going to see a lot more of them.

Peter had managed to secure another cold one - his former mate Charlotte had been gullible enough to be pried away from the advancing group of Cold Ones who sided with the Cullens. Peter got chastised by both Klaus and Elijah for doing something like that, especially seeing as there was a large group of them and what if Peter had been caught? He could have informed the Cullens about what they were planning for them in New Orleans. No, they weren't happy about it.

The spell also required a flesh and blood vampire and Klaus had selected one of his nightwalkers who came in last. The vampire wasn't happy at all and Klaus had to compel him to play along. Both Charlotte and Dennis were unwilling participants and it was something Bella had to get passed. Life wasn't all about rainbows and butterflies, even though the last few weeks had certainly felt like it.

She wasn't even worried if she was going to do something wrong with the spell, or spells, to be exact. Davina and Kol had been patient while they explained the spell to her and what she had to say and how, and what she had to do. Bella was powerful enough, she knew that, but the slightest mistake or shift of power could get Jasper and Peter killed. And she didn't care.

Was it bad of her not to care?

They were in an abandoned warehouse across the river and while Davina and Kol were present, they weren't going to step in unless they had to. Bella didn't want Kol to help her, the idea of losing him to the Ancestors hurt her heart. She had told him that even if he had the urge to help her, he had to promise not to. She didn't care much about what happened to Davina, but she wanted Kol to be the way that he was.

Elijah, Klaus, and Rebekah were present and so were a handful of Klaus' vampires and Marcel. She hated it that all eyes were on her as she drew two overlapping circles with chalk. "Stop looking at me," she said as she finished the circles and got ready to draw the symbols she needed. "You're making me nervous." She wiped the chalk off her hands on her skirt and took out her phone and earbuds to focus on music while she continued her work.

After she was sure that the symbols matched the one on her sketch, she removed the earbuds and looked at Klaus. "I need another one of your nightwalkers."

"No way," Marcel shook his head. "You're going to get one." He pointed at Dennis for emphasis. "He should be enough."

She ignored Marcel as she looked at Klaus. "Please?"

"Very well," he responded with a nod and grabbed a random vampire and compelled him to obey him, just like he had with Dennis.

"Klaus!"

With a sigh, Elijah snapped Marcel's neck and then looked at Bella with a grin. "He'd only distract you, Isabella."

"Thanks," she grinned as she took the hands of the two vampires and lead them into the left circle. She asked Klaus to tell them to lay down and once they did, she placed her hands on their foreheads and muttered "_Dormir_." It worked instantly and the vampires were out cold.

Charlotte was struggling against Peter and Jasper's hold on her, if it weren't for the gag, she'd be spewing obscenities matching the look in her eyes. Bella pointed to the overlapping point of the two circles and with some struggling, they had her on the ground in no time at all. She repeated the spell she did on the other two vampires and sighed in relief. At least that worked.

"This is how it's going to happen," she explained to everyone in the warehouse. "I first need to transfer Charlotte's essence somewhere else. In agreement with Peter, I'm going to release her essence into the ether, passing her on. With the upcoming fight in mind, once her body has no use to me anymore, we will dismantle her and burn her, using her ashes to forge weapons that will penetrate a Cold One with minimal effort. Depending on how many weapons we can make, Kol, Davina and I will spell it so it becomes an even more powerful weapon against Cold Ones. They will not work on you. I promise. The two nightwalkers will be passed on as well, should the spell work properly, their shells will turn into the shells of Cold Ones. Once again, we will burn them and use their ashes for the weapons."

Kol was so proud of his Bella. She spoke with confidence, she oozed confidence in everything she was doing right now and he knew this spell was going to wipe her out but if it wouldn't, he would definitely wait for everyone to leave and take her up the wall in the warehouse. That wall, over there, with the smooth side and the little stool against it for her to stand upon if she needed some aid… "Ow!" he winced as Davina kicked against his shins. "Why did you do that?!"

She simply eyed his groin area with a smile on her face.

"No one, I repeat, no one, will enter the circles until the transformation is complete. It could take up to an hour, maybe longer. While Jasper and Peter will be completely oblivious during all of this, every one of you will have to be patient. I have no idea how this spell will affect me, but if I get in trouble, Rebekah will help me out. Should I need extra magic, Davina will provide it for me. Questions?"

"Go on then, little Swan, you've made yourself very clear," Klaus said with a nod.

Bella nodded as she invited Jasper and Peter in the other half of the circle and used the same spell as she had used on the other vampires before she stepped outside the circle and walked over to Kol with a big smile on her face.

"What?" He chuckled. She didn't look nervous, but he sure as hell was.

"Kiss for good luck?" She asked playfully.

"You don't need-"

Bella pulled reached up to his head and pulled him down while she tugged on his hair to kiss him passionately, only breaking off the kiss when they both needed air. She then smiled at his dumbfounded face and kissed his cheek as she ruffled his hair and then walked back to her task, feeling a little more relaxed. She definitely needed that kiss. She wanted more, but she doubt that it would be appreciated by everyone else in that warehouse. That smooth wall with the stepping stool looked appealing.

She took a deep breath and closed her eyes as she stretched out her arms to reach the three vampires who were moving on. "_Entrez dans la Sérénité, votre vie était belle. Il est temps de partir,_" she whispered. Enter Serenity, your life was beautiful, it's time to leave. She wasn't sure life had been beautiful for them, but it worked for the spell.

She took another deep breath and repeated the sentences a few times before she realized that the minds of these vampires weren't going to give up that easily. Her eyes flew open and she reached for her jar of ground up gemstones. She took a handful of the ground up Serpentine, Amethyst and Chiastolite and sprinkled some on the bodies before she repeated the sentences.

Slowly, but surely, she could feel how the essences of these vampires vacated their bodies. "Be at peace, Dennis, Rick and Charlotte, may you be welcomed back in the arms of your loved ones." She then watched as three balls of light shot up and moved out of the window and smiled. At least that one had been successful.

Bella loved it that Davina and Kol had adjusted the spell to her liking, nothing that forceful if not needed. Of course, she knew the backup spell as well, but she liked things to be easy going, pressure less. She sat down at the blonde heads of Peter and Jasper and sprinkled some of her gem mixture on top of them, although she suspected that she wouldn't meet any resistance from them, they wanted this. All this… three bodies was for them. It took a lot for her not to be disgusted by it. "Alright you two," she said softly as she moved to touch their shoulders with one hand and reached for Charlotte with her other. "Time to vacate your bodies for a bit._ Il est temps de se séparé de votre corps. _Let me in. _Permettez-moi_." She closed her eyes and she reached into Jasper's mind to pull him out of his body and put it in Charlotte's. She did the same for Peter.

Rebekah was quick to catch her when she got to her feet, feeling slightly dizzy. "Thanks," Bella smiled at her as she held on to Rebekah for a moment and then let go of her to start circling the circles while she chanted something in latin. Or whatever language it was, it certainly was similar. The idea was that both circles would merge onto Peter and Jasper while casting out the Cold One makeup. She had needed Charlotte to hold their essences because a normal vampire would have exploded, but at the same time, the spell had to cancel out their originality.

The warehouse slowly spun out of existence, she could only see what was in front of her as she continued her spell, feeling some resistance coming from the other side. Davina had told her that it could happen, casting a spell of this magnitude would surely wake up the Ancestors and they'd try to stop it even if Bella didn't have to answer to them.

She grunted as she continued chanting and tried to imagine a steel door to push the Ancestors away. She knew that they knew that they had no say over her, but they were trying to bring her off balance and have her fail the spell. They sure weren't giving up, and neither was she. While she kept circling the dormant vampires and held one hand above them, she used her other one to put extra force behind that mental door. Just as Davina had taught her.

She didn't know how long it took but eventually she could feel how everything was transferring back as it should, energy was lightly brushing against the hand she kept centered. Had she not cast out the first three vampires, she would have gained some of their strength, but she didn't want it, simply because she didn't need more strength. She then realized she made the big mistake of not protecting Jasper's and Peter's gifts that well and stopped casting. Fuck.

At the same time she stopped casting, the circle winked out of existence just as the warehouse had done earlier and she was met with darkness as she passed out.

She woke up with a pounding head. It was as if there were tens of thousands of midgets inside her brain and trying to drill their way out. When she opened her eyes, she was relieved that the room was blissfully dark. Room. It took her a moment to realize she wasn't in the warehouse anymore.

"Hey, hey," she could hear Kol shush her and felt how he gently took her into his arms. "Shh, it's okay, Davina made sure everything wrapped up nicely."

Bella sighed as she snuggled up against him. "Did it work?" Oh, speaking hurt.

"You were incredible," he softly planted a kiss on her head. "Go back to sleep."

"Can't."

"Why not, Cuddles?"

"My head hurts," she said with a sigh and looked up to him, she could barely make out his face in the darkness.

"I can fix that," he said softly and caressed her hair as he muttered a spell. "How's that?"

"Better," she softly kissed him before nestling back against him and drifted back to sleep.

When she woke up again, she felt fully rested and headache free. On top of that, she wanted to continue what her brain started the day before, or whenever that was, she wasn't quite sure how long she'd been out. Kol was happily snoozing away still and she was going to put a stop to that.

He had undressed her and himself before going to bed, which was a good thing, it'd save some time. She turned into him and softly started to kiss his neck, gently pushing him onto his back and moving with him as he continued to sleep. He'd wake up soon enough, she knew that for sure.

Bella started to kiss her way down his chest as her hand worked its way into his boxers and once she had a firm grip on it, started to move her hand up and down. He was still asleep, but she loved how he responded to her touch and her lips. Then again, she had learned that men always had sex on their mind, which was great, but it amazed her how he just continued to slumber.

The blankets got in the way so she pulled her hand off of him and threw them on the floor before tugging on his boxers. Kol was waking up now, she knew that, but she still wanted him to have a great wake up call. She whispered the spell he had used on her countless of times to get rid of his boxers and marveled at the sight as the tiny sparks revealed his erect cock.

"What are you doing?" Kol sleepily muttered.

Bella giggled as she positioned herself and firmly grabbed his cock again. She placed a kiss on his shaft and then licked it from the base all up to the top, lapping up his pre-cum as she did. She hummed in appreciation and then took him into her mouth.

"Oh… fuck…" He shook the cobwebs of sleep out of his head as he propped himself up on his elbows to look at her, her head bobbing up and down and her little noises of her sucking him enticing him even further. He had thought he was dreaming at first and didn't want to wake up, but this was a hundred times better. Bella was sucking him off and she looked so pretty doing so. When she accidentally scraped her teeth, he hissed and moaned at the same time as he let himself fall back onto the bed. His little, innocent girl was becoming someone as corruptible as him when it came to sex, and he loved it.

She moaned around him as her pussy started to ache with need, with want. Bella had only planned on giving him a blow job, but she wanted more. She needed more. She released his cock to get out of her underwear, causing Kol to whine a complaint before greedily kissing him as she got on top of him.

Bella was already soaking wet as she took his cock and lined herself up with him as she kept her eyes trained on Kol, who was staring at her as if she'd lost her mind. Or maybe he lost it, she wasn't sure about that. Licking her lips, she lowered herself until she felt the tip press against her opening. "Want me to stop?" She asked teasingly.

Her question got answered by his hands firmly clamping down on her hips, keeping her in place. Kol watched her in fascination as she continued to lower herself on him, slowly impaling herself on him and it took everything in him not to be impatient, flip her over and drive himself into her. No, this was all Bella doing what she wanted and he loved every second of it.

She couldn't remember if she ever felt as aroused as she was feeling now, it was almost as if she could feel Kol's need fuelling her own. Once he was snug inside of her, she let out a deep breath and felt herself slip down even further as a moan escaped from her lips and her head rolled back.

"Oh, look at that pretty neck…" Kol said huskily and swallowed hard as he started to caress her stomach and then decided to play with her breasts, they were much more fun. "I'd have sunk my teeth in that in a heartbeat."

Her eyes flew open and she looked at him. "You want to become a vampire again?"

"No," he laughed. "I love my life too much, thank you very much. But if I still were one… your neck would be mine. Forever."

"I imagine if you still were one, we wouldn't have met. Your life would have gone differently."

"Yeah, locked up in a box. Thanks." He sulked as he twisted her nipples, causing her body to spasm and her hips to move. "Yes…" he moaned with a big smile on his face. "Keep on doing that…"

She ground her hips into him and put her hands on his stomach to keep her in place, which was quite tricky considering Kol really liked the way she responded to him twisting her nipples on regular intervals. He was almost using them as a way to steer her and after a while, they felt sore and extremely sensitive to his touch. He was close, she could feel it, and she was too.

She twisted her hips and felt how he came inside of her and she rode out his orgasm as she rubbed her clit to follow him. Bella didn't bother to get off of him to catch her breath and just laid down on top of him, drawing circles on his chest. "Good morning," she grinned.

"Good morning," he replied with a big smile on his face, making her feel all warm and fuzzy on the inside again. "I take it you're feeling better then, Cuddles?" She shivered as his fingertips started to mimic her movements on her back. It just felt so good.

She nodded as she closed her eyes, enjoying being with him like this.

"Jasper and Peter are doing fine. It worked."

"Shh, I don't want to talk about them. Don't ruin our bubble."

"Okay."

She could feel how he buried his hand in her hair and started to massage her scalp and sighed happily. This was heaven. She could definitely be like this forever. But forever needed to wait. Bella had the sudden urge to call her mother and tell her and Phil to pack a bag and come to New Orleans, something was wrong, but she couldn't really understand why or even explain it. "Where's my phone?"

Kol groaned as he reached for her phone on the nightstand and handed it to her. "I thought you didn't want to ruin our bubble?"

"I don't, but I have a feeling something's going to happen to my mom," she said as she dialed her mother's number. "I want her here where it's safe."

"What are you talking about, Cuddles?"

She put her hand over his mouth and put her phone on speaker as it lay on his chest. Hearing it ring felt like pure agony for her.

"_Hello?"_

"Mom! Hi!"

"_Hi, sweetheart! How are you doing? Is everything okay?"_ Her mother sounded happy, and it immediately calmed Bella down.

"Yeah, I'm fine. Great, even," she replied with a smile on her face. "Hey, how about you and Phil pack your bags and fly out to New Orleans on the first plane available?" When she was sure that Kol would shut his mouth, she removed her hand from his lips.

Bella could hear her mother laugh. "_Don't be silly, Bella, I have work in the morning."_

"Mom. Please. I…" she looked at Kol and bit her lip. How was she going to get her mother to New Orleans? "I want you to meet my boyfriend."

Boyfriend? Kol mouthed with a smile on his face.

"_Well, Phil and I can come over in a few weeks?"_

"No, now, mom. Please. Come now. I don't … I…" she tried to sound panicked, almost as if she was having a panic attack and by the look on Kol's face, it sounded pretty convincing.

"_Okay, okay, calm down. We're coming as soon as we can, baby. I'll call you when I've landed."_

"Thanks…" Bella muttered. "Love you."

"_Is it safe to hang up?"_

"Yeah, thanks, mom… really…"

"_Alright, honey. See you soon. I love you too."_

Bella hung up and put her phone next to her on the bed as she looked up to Kol. "What?" She said with a chuckle.

"You've been hanging around me too much, I'm corrupting you," he pulled her up so he could kiss her. "Now, what was all of that about?"

"There was a slight oversight with the creation of the spell…" She smirked at him. "Oh, don't worry, I'm sure it's only temporary. And I'm quite positive I'll be able to handle it." He just looked at her. She loved his confused puppy look face and softly kissed him. "The spell blocked vampire abilities but Jasper and Peter are more than that and it brushed off to me… just a little bit."

"Oh, great," Kol groaned as his head fell back onto his pillow.

"I'm sure that I'll be fine in a few days."

"Really?"

Bella nodded and softly kissed him. "Want to take a shower with me?"

"Yes. No… yes." Kol grinned as he pulled her back on to the bed and pinned her to the mattress. "I thought about taking you away for a couple of days, but here you are, ruining my plans by inviting your mother and her boyfriend to New Orleans."

She stuck out her tongue to him as she put her legs around his waist.

"Where do you want them to stay?"

She shrugged as she looked at him. "At a hotel."

"Not here, where it's safer?"

"Yeah, but that would involve a lot of compelling and-"

"So?"

"No."

"Niklaus probably wouldn't mind sparing one of his vampires as a security detail but truly, it's safer if they're here."

"Kol…"

"You know I'm right, darling," he smiled at her and started to kiss her neck. "We'll talk to my brother to hear his opinion about the matter, but I think he'll agree with me."

Bella huffed and tried to wiggle out of his hold. This was going to get out of hand - again - if she didn't put a stop to this and get them both underneath the shower to cool off. She could already feel how her restriction sent her blood racing through her body, already demanding for more. Her sore nipples started to ache again as she could feel his lips against his ear.

"I'm not done with you yet," he whispered in her ear, sending shivers down her body. "You told your mum I'm your boyfriend."

"Yes," she whispered as he brushed her erection against her core. Oh, he was going to pay for this. So. Much. "You would be annoyed if I told her I wanted her to meet my friend…"

"I wouldn't say annoyed…"

She could feel how his weight shifted to the hands that were pinning her wrists to the mattress and how he nuzzled her earlobe as he repeated the movement he did earlier. She found that he thought she was incredibly sexy with no place to go - even though she was more than capable of pushing him off of her. But she didn't want to do that. No, she was good for another round and used her legs, that were still around his waist, to pull him down to her.

When he stopped nuzzling and popped his head up to look at her, he had this arrogant smirk on his face. Bella knew that he knew exactly what he was doing. "You little shit," she moaned as she bucked her hips against him. Where did that come from?

"Oh, this is very interesting indeed," Kol grinned and kissed her as he released one of her wrists to quickly guide himself into her and grabbed hold of her wrist again before she had developed a thought of maybe doing something with her hand. "I should tie you up the next time…" he said huskily. "Up against a wall or just here on the bed… make sure you absolutely can't move by yourself…"

She let out a strangled moan, quite liking that idea herself, as he sunk himself into her. "That wall in the warehouse…"

"Oh, you noticed that too, have you?" He grinned as he licked along the vein in her neck. "It's definitely something we could do… the feeling of that cold wall against your back as I have my way with you…" Kol rocked his hips once he was in and started to move. "Slow at first… slow and deep."

She arched her back into him with a moan as she closed her eyes. She could already imagine the sensation of that happening.

"But then again, we'd be up against a wall and would definitely need something for you to stand on… otherwise, it'd be fast and hard," he continued with a groan and started to drive himself into her. "Or slow…" he adjusted the pace again just to tease her. "While you ride me as I walk around that warehouse…"

"You fucking tease…" she moaned as she tried to free her hands again, but he was still pressing them down into the mattress.

"Oh yes, I'm fucking you and I'm a tease," he smirked, licking his lips as he looked at her. "And you, Cuddles, are fucking delicious and so sexy when you talk dirty…"

She couldn't bring out a coherent thought then, as he continued to claim her with various speeds and her body making involuntary movements. The fact that he was keeping her in place was thrilling, exciting and something she wanted more of; he would never hurt her. She knew this. Bella then started to think of him being all tied up and nowhere to go and all the things she could do with him then… how he'd look. So gorgeous. So hot.

She came hard and fast as he slammed into her, not bothering to keep quiet as it was a moot point with all those vampires around. She could feel him come inside of her as she basked in post-coital bliss, knowing that the next few days were going to be very interesting indeed.


	20. Wrecking Ball

A lot of thank you to Jasper's Goddess of War and Meekobb for giving me inspiration for this chapter.

* * *

Bella loved spending time with Reneé and showing her around New Orleans with Kol. It gave her a sense of normalcy. Almost. It was something she hadn't realized of having needed that. Her mother and Phil had to stay at a hotel because Klaus didn't want them at the compound but had assigned two vampires to keep an eye on them when they weren't with Bella and Kol.

The few days were was almost normal, with no spells and no vampire intervention, up until the last evening of Reneé's visit. Klaus had orchestrated a nice dinner with both families and, in hindsight, Bella should have known better to accept or let allow her mom to accept.

There was no doubt that the entire Mikaelson family liked showing off, liked showing their guests how well off they were. To impress. To show their guests that they're better and always would be. She never really paid attention to it, simply because Kol - at least alone with her - wasn't like that and didn't flaunt it in her face. Much.

Klaus had compelled an excellent chef from a nearby restaurant to cook for them and even had some servers to make sure that everything would be perfect. And it was. It was fun, entertaining and comfortable right until Klaus grabbed the wrist of one of the female servants and bit it, lapping up her blood.

While Rebekah and Elijah were quick to compel Reneé and Phil to forget this was happening, Bella was boiling with anger. She had managed to avoid having to compel her mom and Phil ever since they set foot in New Orleans because she didn't like the idea of their brains being scrambled and Klaus just did it to prove a point. He'd do always what he wanted to do, no matter the consequences.

After taking Reneé and her boyfriend to the airport, Kol managed to calm Bella down enough for her not to go after Klaus or blow up the fountain again and took her out for a drink instead.

The following morning they were abruptly woken up by the sound of things getting knocked over in their room. When Bella sat up and blinked, trying to fix her headache, she saw that Rebekah was trying to pull her brother out of the room. If she didn't know any better, Klaus seemed to be frothing at the mouth.

"Good morning, brother," Kol greeted him chipper. Bella was envious. They had had so much to drink last night and she didn't quite remember what happened and was hungover, but Kol seemed to be fine. It wasn't fair. "Slept well?"

"I'm going to kill you."

"Nik, calm down," Rebekah grunted as she moved in front of her brother and started to push him out. "It's a harmless prank."

"Harmless?" Klaus breezed as he shoved his sister away from him and stormed the bed. "Harmless?!"

"What's the matter?" Kol said patronizingly before slipping out of bed and getting into his slacks. "Don't you look pretty as a speckled pup. Did you wake from a three dog night? Did someone claim your territory as his? Oh!" he grinned. "Did someone piss in your cereal?"

"You get rid of them, now!"

"You're barking up the wrong tree, mate," he grinned. "Or no, you're not but you should really flog the dog, you know… don't hurt the actual dog."

Bella looked between Kol and his brother and felt so confused. "What the hell is going on?"

"Oh, of course, she conveniently forgets!" Klaus rolled his eyes.

"Oh, Cuddles, don't you remember our curious incident of the dogs during night time?" Kol smirked at her. "It'll take a lot of work for Niklaus to fix this, he's just angry with us because he doesn't have a bitch to do it for him."

"Hey!" Rebekah said offended and crossed her arms over her chest.

"Oh, I don't mean you, dear sister."

"Kol, what did we do last night?" Bella asked carefully, the events of last night being quite foggy.

"I'll throw you a bone, darling, we took our revenge on Klaus last night. You were all worked up on how he drank from a human in front of your parents so we let the dogs out and lead them to their Alpha. Their pack leader," he said with a smirk. "Now he has to feed them and bring them back."

"The hell I will!"

"Brother, sometimes you're the dog, sometimes you're the hydrant," he said with a shrug. "You made your bed last night during dinner, now you have to sleep in it. Just be grateful they are puppies from the pound being brought to you, next time we'll cast a sleeping spell and bring you to the pound."

"Will that actually work?" Rebekah asked with an amused look on her face. "Can we actually do that?"

Klaus breezed out of the room.

"He looks like a kicked puppy," Bella snorted and hugged the covers close to her as not to fall out of bed. "We really did what you just said?"

"It was your idea, Cuddles. You're a wicked drunk."

"I guess…" She groaned as she fell back on her pillow before realizing something and sat back up again. "We'd better save those dogs from Klaus if we want to keep them alive…"

"Oh, you two really didn't think this through, did you?" Rebekah groaned as she sped out of the room to save the dogs.

"We were drunk!" Kol called after her, laughing.

They spent the entire morning rounding up the dogs - it weren't that many but for some reason they hadn't taken leashes with them and Bella gave up after ten minutes - and taking them back to the shelter. Lunch was something fatty and gooey and after a long shower, Bella was finally starting to feel like herself again. The events of the previous night still forgotten, but it still rippled through the Compound as there was an angry hybrid stomping around. Kol and Bella spent the afternoon at the cemetery going over some potions they could use when the Cullens would come for them. Not just for them, but also for the vampires who would be fighting for them to defeat the cold ones. Why make things hard when you can make things simple?

By the time they got back, the sun had gone down and they returned to a virtually empty building, with only Jasper waiting for their return. "Where is everyone?" Kol asked as he looked around. The lights were on, but there was definitely no one home.

"Peter had a hunch. You know how his hunches work and so does Klaus so they all went. I have no idea why," he replied with his usual drawl and half a shrug. "I was told to stay behind to make sure you were alright."

"What kind of hunch?" Bella asked warily as she poured herself a glass of lemonade from the jug that was left on the table in the courtyard.

Jasper let out a breath and sighed. "Edward sized but don't worry, Klaus assured me they were just going to take a look. They're all yours."

"What? Already?" She said, almost choking on her lemonade. "I mean…" Hadn't they just talked to the Volturi? That was a week ago. It made sense that he was already coming for her because he had time to gather a crowd around him who thought the way that he did and that Bella had to 'come home'.

"I said, don't worry. There's still plenty of time, but make sure you sleep well tonight. No more shenanigans at the bar."

"Wow, can you sound any more patronizing?" Bella said as she put down her glass and walked to the room she shared with Kol just to avoid Jasper picking up on her emotions which she knew were running wild right now. She was scared. She didn't feel prepared and she was afraid that if she'd see him again that she'd roll over and submit. She was afraid that she couldn't stop anyone from hurting Kol even though he was more than capable of protecting himself. What if she'd freeze? What if she'd fuck up?

She knew she didn't have anything to worry about; her new friends would just continue for her, along side of her. They helped her to get ready for this. This was inevitable, with the Cullens obsession with her and all. The time was here now; she shouldn't freak out. She was better than that now. It's what she'd been working on for the last month.

Right now, she wanted to remove Jasper's heart or cut off his head. She didn't need his meant-to-be-funny remarks and she was still quite angry with him. It was hard to forgive someone who had manipulated you for the better part of two years that seemed to have lasted decades.

She wouldn't fuck up, she was Bella the kickass witch. Better than Sabrina the teenage witch. She had Kol and his family on her side, she could count on several witches - including Davina - to side with her with this fight as well and they would win. The cold ones weren't scary. Not one bit.

Nope.

Bella took a couple of deep breaths and tried to shake the tension out of her body, only to be disturbed when she heard Jasper cry out in pain quite loudly in the courtyard. Opening the door, she took a look around the corner and saw that Kol was hurting Jasper with some spell and strangely, she liked it. She leaned against the doorframe and just kept watching Kol hurt Jasper some more before he got bored and came towards her, leaving Jasper writhing in agony on the floor.

"He was being an asshole," Kol said mockingly apologizing. "He deserved it."

"I couldn't have done it better myself," she smiled at him and pulled him inside the room. Once the door was closed, she jumped into his arms and kissed him passionately. Kol was going to help her release the tension in her body. What better way to do it than to have sex?

She woke quite late the next day, Kol was already gone, and she felt a little bit guilty. If they were going to fight the Cullens tonight, then she should have been up sooner. It was her fight and instead, Kol let her sleep. She quickly took a shower to freshen up and got into a clean pair of jeans and a tank top before binding her hair with a hair tie. Satisfied that she looked kick-ass enough, she made her way out of the room and headed to the area where she heard everyone discussing things. "Morning," she greeted everyone.

"Morning, Cuddles," Kol got to his feet and softly kissed her. "We were just talking about what Klaus has discovered last night."

"And you couldn't wake me for that?"

"Wasn't necessary, it's not as if I've made any progress," Klaus replied disgruntled. "I offered all of them sanctuary after informing them what was going to happen if they chose to continue with their plan of trying to snatch you. No one came forward."

"You want more cold ones?" Bella stammered. "Are you out of your mind?"

He shrugged. "It was worth a try. Indestructible minions are always a plus."

"And you're lucky you all came back alive."

"I told them that," Jasper piped up. "Original or not, they could have done some serious damage."

"Nonsense," Klaus huffed. "It was a pleasant, cease-fire conversation. No blood was shed, although they did threaten that if we'd get in their way of getting you back, blood would be spilled."

"What did you tell them?"

"Nothing. Just that they will regret coming after you because you do not wish to return to them," he explained simply. "I have requested though that we'd meet at the docks. I promised Edward and Carlisle to take you there. I want to keep New Orleans in pristine shape and I doubt that once they start barging in, nothing will be safe. We'd have to work around the clock to do damage control with the humans and they don't want that either. They also hope it won't come to a fight and want you to come quietly."

"Like hell."

"That's the spirit," Kol grinned.

"Until nightfall, there's not much else we can do but to go by our normal routine," Klaus spoke again.

"Stupid sparkly leeches," Bella muttered as she sat down on Kol's lap. "Can't we just go to wherever they're hiding at and kill them all now?"

"And risk exposing us and risk destroying the city?"

"I don't care."

"Patience, little Swan, you will get your chance," Klaus said with a smile. "But we're not going to risk destroying my city."

Bella sighed as she picked up a dinner roll from the table and started to nibble on it. She understood the reasons and she understood that battles were won differently. Her dad, a cop, would just go to the criminal's front door and kick it in to arrest him. He'd shoot without hesitation - thankfully that didn't happen a lot in Forks, but still. This sucked.

"Yes, let's go," Kol said as he lifted Bella off his lap and pulled her with him. He understood her nervousness, the itch to just get it over with, but this also made it a lot more dangerous for her tonight. She needed to unwind. "We're going to have some fun. Poke some wolves or something."

"But…"

"Yeah, no buts, Cuddles. Only your butt and I can grab it," he playfully smacked her bottom as he escorted her off the property. He had wanted to take her to Jackson Square for a while now, sure, they had been there before and looked at the artists, but not really at the area surrounding it as they had been just passing. And other than that, they had been busy with spells and teaching Bella some magic, there was still so much to explore for her.

What better way to explore some of New Orleans than to hire a horse-drawn carriage? It reminded him of the old days, where it was the only way to get around anywhere, really. It had been dull back then to travel like that, but it was fun now, it was sentimental. Ancient. The world changed all the time, but some things still stayed the same and that was beautiful.

She had significantly relaxed once they arrived at Jackson Square and was animated during their ride in a carriage - something Bella thought was amazing and would do it again - and Kol then took her to the 1850 house. While most of the compound had most of the old furniture still from the old days, a lot had been modernized and he wanted to show Bella what it was like to live in the 1800's. He was, of course, in his coffin around 1850, but it was only 30 years removed from when he had Marcel watch a Shakespeare play, directed by Kol.

Bella did not like to hear the story. She thought that it had been plain evil, to subject a young child to something like that. Oh, he didn't defend himself. It had been wrong of him to do so, but he had loved it. As a vampire, he didn't care about what was right or wrong, he just wanted to have fun and to torture a young Marcel like that, had been fun. The killing of the players had been satisfying.

Of course, now that he was human, he wouldn't do something like that anymore. It was harder to get away with something when you're a vulnerable being and mind-numbingly slow. He assured her, again, that he thoroughly loved being human and would never want to go back living as a vampire. That, if that happened, Bella was going to have to kill him. As they were looking at one of the bedrooms that had a crib in, he made her promise him that she would kill him if his brother turned him again.

No matter how much Kol didn't want to be a vampire anymore, there was nothing you could do against Klaus' whims. Bella promised Kol that she'd kill Klaus first if he'd ever do such a thing.

After the house, they took a taxi all the way to Elmwood to go to Adventure Quest to ride around in bumper cars, letting off some steam and having fun while trying to catch each other and win the race. They went back home around dinner time and just arrived in time for everything to be plated up.

He sent Bella to their room while he made sure the both of them had sufficiently enough to eat and brought it to her. Having dinner with his siblings would only cause her to get stressed again and he didn't want that, a fun, relaxed Bella was the way to go for tonight. She needed to have fun when using her magic to destroy the Cullens. She needed to get her revenge in a fun way.

It was hard enough to come face to face again with the people who mistreated her.

Kol knew that he was getting a lot of grief, mostly behind his back, from his siblings. That they hadn't seen him care so much about someone in a very long time, that it was unlike him. He then reminded them that it was Klaus' fault in the first place for giving him human babysit duty months ago, but that he was indeed grateful for that. After what happened when he was negotiating with the ancestors when he had died, he felt doomed the moment he realized he'd been resurrected. But as it turned out, he wasn't. Fuck that, destiny.

I am so in trouble, he grinned to himself as he sat at the table and watch Bella push her food around. He had noticed it happen a lot during their day of fun, she was getting stuck in her own head just like she had been getting stuck in her head in Forks all the time. It sucked. Not just for her, but for him as well. It was likely she was extremely worried and nervous, but that really wasn't the best headspace to enter a fight. It needed to be fun.

Fun. Oh, he had an idea and it was wicked.

"Alright, I can't take it any longer, seeing you like this," Kol said as he got to his feet and helped Bella out of her chair. "Sunset is in two hours, we're going to do something exciting until then."

"What's that?"

"A way to…" he thought of the other words that needed to follow. "Annoy certain cold ones even further. Come on, we'll grab you a sandwich on the way to the docks."

"The docks?"

"It has warehouses."

Bella let it sink in for a moment, processed the words in her chaotic mind and then grinned. "Let's go!"

Bella had loved the idea of annoying Edward some more by having sex all over the area that Klaus had picked up for their confrontation. She hated it that she had been getting stuck in her mind, it made her feel fickle and annoying. She knew that there was no way that Edward was going to get her back because she didn't want to go back and she knew how to fight him off now. She had the capabilities to do that. To rip his limbs from his torso without touching him. To set him on fire with just a word. She didn't have anything to fear. And to feel like a worthless piece of shit was a gigantic step back for her. She wasn't worthless. She was awesome.

They managed to have quickies on three separate places in the area before one of their magical alarms went off, indicating someone was in the area and they had to stop. Well, not had to. It was proper to stop. Bella wanted to stop while Kol didn't care who caught them with their pants down. As exciting as it sounded, she really didn't want to have his siblings stumble upon them, even though they had to suffer through them having sex on an almost daily basis. Vampire hearing and all that.

And instead of feeling tired, she felt energized. Bella felt hyper and ready to kick ass. She honestly didn't deserve someone like Kol; he was amazing and she hoped that she won't ever get into a funk again after they showed them what they were made of. She was on the cusp of full freedom and she was desperate to take it.

Instead of finding Klaus or one of their group, it was Edward. Just Edward. No one else. Part of Bella felt relieved, but another part quite annoyed because it was just Edward. He had stopped a little ahead of them, mostly because out of instinct, Bella had put up the magical shield she had been taught by Davina to physically hold off people instead of just her own personal mental shielding.

Edward didn't seem too phased by it. He took on a relaxed stance and put his hands in his pockets. He was making an effort to look flawless, relaxed and perfect, but he wasn't. After the effects of Jasper's manipulating had worn off and the drugs had been out of her system, she knew that she had always seen something ugly bubbling underneath when she looked at Edward. She had just been too stupid to fall for his charms.

"Hello, Bella," he greeted her with his smooth as velvet voice. He appeared calm and she didn't need Jasper's gift to tell her that he was angry underneath it all.

"Fuckward," she greeted him back.

Edward visibly sighed. It was that an eye roll was beneath him, but Bella would have loved to see that.

"I'm not coming back with you."

"I know."

"Then why are you here?" Bella was confused, surely he knew that he signed up for his own death by coming here, hadn't he experienced the strength of Rebekah when she took Rosalie apart? "And alone?"

"I'm not alone. In fact, your friends are keeping mine detained until we've talked and I have just one question for you."

All he wanted was to ask something? She'd rather kill him now she had the chance, now that he was alone. Just seeing his face made her angry, she could feel it in her bones. Bella looked up to Kol for a moment, slightly confused before looking back at Edward. If anything, if he wanted to make an ass out of himself, this was the right moment. This was going to be good. "Okay?" she said a little bit unsure.

"I have to admit that the way we treated you has been less than honorable," he started as he shifted his stance a little. "It's true, Carlisle is fascinated by anomalies in humans and while I found you interesting at first glance because I couldn't hear your thoughts, Carlisle insisted that you were the one for me, and you were."

Kol scoffed and Bella stepped on his foot to shut him up. "Let's hear him out," she said softly. "This ought to be good. Grab the popcorn."

Edward let out a frustrated whine, breaking his oh so perfect appearance. He sounded like a small child, this was fun. "Yes, we knew you were special and we wanted to covet you. It's also the reason why I was apprehensive about turning you as there's always a chance that a special ability doesn't turn along. Yes, we manipulated you with drugs and Jasper's ability. But," he said, almost with a glimmer of hope, that what he was going to say next was going to be the one thing that would bring her back to him. "Your new friends. Are you sure that they aren't just using you for what you can do? I mean, you were in his arms in a blink of an eye. Alice has had dealings with your friends in the past and all they wanted was power."

"Oh, you have no idea what I can do, haven't you?" Bella let out a laugh. "I'm surprised the Volturi didn't inform you." Yes, it had been predictable and a cheap attempt of trying to screw with her mind at that. "Did you see Jasper and Peter on your way over? You must have detected a certain change…"

"What does their fragile condition have to do with anything?"

"I got this, Cuddles," Kol smirked as he put his hands on her shoulders and gently squeezed them. "It takes an enormous amount of magic to turn you cold ones into normal vampires."

"I picked up thoughts about Bella being a witch, Kol. That's simply not true."

"Actually, it is. She's responsible for their transformation. That shield that's stopping you from coming for us? That's her too."

Edward huffed. "Impossible."

Bella extended her shield outward by force, sending Edward flying several feet through the air. She didn't bother putting it back up again, she, or Kol, could easily dismantle him without any effort. "If anything, Edward, my new friends have showed me who I am. What I am. They helped me and there's no doubt that Klaus loves it that there's another witch in town who's on his side. However, unlike you, he allows me to be my own person. They're all decent people and they're honest with me." Edward was up and right in front of them within a blink of an eye, but she reached out with her hand and imagined it being around his throat to stop him. She had tried this on Marcel a few times, and he didn't feel as strong as Edward did right now. "I sure hope you're done talking," she said as she focused to hold him in place and started to tug on his arm with her other hand, attempting to separate it from his torso.

"Bella, don't," Edward struggled as he tried to free himself from her hold.

"I think you should get Klaus here with everyone else. Have them all see this," Bella told Kol with a big smile on her face. "I'm ready."

"Bella…"

"Enough with the talking, Edward!" Bella shot at him before throwing him into a wall of lead pipes before pulling him back towards them. Sure, those pipes wouldn't hurt him, but it made her feel slightly better. "I've had enough of you. I came here to be left alone and yet you're here trying to change my mind? Again? Seriously?" She said angrily and the moment she saw some movement next to the other warehouse, she used her magic to tear off his right arm as if it was a piece of paper. There was some fighting going on at the back, but she didn't care. The sound of metal grating against metal sounded like music to her ears. When he cried out in agony, she just smiled.

Kol quickly froze all the cold ones in their places as they were advancing quite quickly after having burst through their defenses and he wanted Bella to get all her revenge, but right now she seemed extremely distracted with Edward. She had been dreading this all day, he knew that, but now it was here, she was thoroughly enjoying herself. And kinda hot.

"Bella, stop!" Carlisle cried out. "You're going to kill him!"

"That's my intention," she said as she ripped off Edward's leg. "It's only fair. You mistreated me, you came after me and now you're here. You're all dead."

"This is almost too easy!" Klaus called from the back of the pack. He sounded excited, happy to go on a killing spree - this was so Klaus, Kol thought. "I don't know why they showed up, really, they're so easy to kill!"

The fun part of taking Edward slowly apart was that he was still alive. The venom was pooling around his feet, leaking out of the orifices that got left after she ripped off his limbs. She could have gone the easy way out and simply set him on fire, but she took pleasure in this. Bella looked over her shoulder to Kol with a big smile on her face. "Alice is yours if you want."

"I think she should be Jasper's. The guy deserves it."

"I like your thinking," she said with a nod. "Jazz!" She called out to him and he was by her side within seconds. "Look! I'm making art with venom!"

"That's pretty," he said with a grin. "Well done Bella, you deserve it."

"Uhuh, why don't you take Alice? You deserve that."

The look on Jasper's face changed, he had been killing Cold Ones without getting really worked up and getting his vampire face on, but the thought of killing the one he was forced to love for so long, was making him hungry. "If you say so," he said as he made his way over to Alice and snapped her neck as if she was a twig. Even though he was still a vampire, the venom of the Cold Ones could hurt him now because his skin was flesh and not impervious. When Alice dropped to the floor, he didn't hesitate and planted his boot in the middle of her torso, creating a hole where he dropped her head in and then set her on fire.

"You fucking traitor," Emmett spat, he had been standing close to Alice and when she dropped, her prison fell away and so did his. Without something holding him back, he jumped on Jasper and ripped out his heart. Jasper's body created a thud on the floor and Bella dropped Edward to turn her attention to Emmett. "There. Much better."

"You fucking asshole!" Bella breezed as she stepped over Edward, who was writhing on the floor in agony, as she shot spells at Emmett to take him down as soon as she could because he could do more damage than any other cold one in the field and once he was on the ground, she verbally cast a spell to tear him in half before setting him on fire. "He was doing better! And you killed him!"

She then turned to Carlisle, who was looking at the scenes before him in shock. "You don't deserve any leniency, Carlisle. You're one fucked up person who clearly isn't cut out for family life."

"Bella, I…"

"No," she said resolutely before she stepped back over Edward and magically lifted him off the floor again. "Kol, he's all yours," she said as she nodded to Carlisle as she ripped off Edward's other arm. Would it be possible to actually skin Edward? Would his skin give way? Was that going too far? She ripped off his remaining leg and all that was holding him up right now was her magic. "You look a little pale, Edward."

"It's not too late to stop," he spluttered. "Please."

"Did you stop when I asked you to?" She countered as she thought of a way to hurt him even further. Oh, she could definitely do that! She muttered the spell that she and Kol used on each other when in the privacy of their own room and saw Edward's clothes disappear with tiny sparkles. "Oh my god, you're ugly."

"Stop, please, you've had your fun."

"No. I have not," she said as she reached out her hand to envision his penis and balls and yanked them off of him, playfully discarding them on the pile of limbs.

"Remind me not to piss you off, Cuddles," Kol said huskily. He was so turned on right now! He had to admit, once Bella had gotten over her fear, she was fearless. She'd make a great vampire. Seeing Bella like this was hot. He was definitely going to have sex with her again after this was all over. Celebratory sex. Well deserved.

"How does it feel, Edward, to be taken apart? To see what makes someone tick?" She asked as she envisioned gripping part of his exposed skin and ripped it off in a strip, the noise deafening. "How does it feel not being able to stop me?"

"This isn't you," he panted. "Please…"

"The more you beg, the longer this will continue," she replied evenly as she pulled off another strip of his skin. There was nothing human about him on the inside anymore. It was all somewhat glued together or something. It was disturbing. "Oh gross," she shuddered as she ripped off another piece of skin.

By the time she had stripped him off all skin, Klaus and the other vampires, wolves, and witches had disposed of most of the Cold Ones, apart from a handful who had made a sharp right turn and had disappeared, scared out of their wits and Klaus was admiring her handiwork. "You look tired, love."

"I feel a little spent, yes," she replied as she was leaning against Kol for support. The spell to turn Jasper and Peter into regular vampires had been easy compared to focussing for this long, for how long had she been at this? But she didn't want to quit. She wanted to have Edward feel what it felt like to be exposed like she had been, what it felt like to be unable to do something, but there wasn't much left of him for her to take apart other than to tear his head off and set the pile of Edward on fire.

"It's been a long day, you've done well," Klaus said calmly, proud of his brother's little witch. "It's time to end it now. He's the last one."

Bella nodded as she took a deep breath. She focused on Edward and snapped off his head before throwing his remains onto one pile and cast a spell to light him on fire. It was over. It was finally over. She was free.

Kol caught her just as she collapsed against him and scooped her up in his arms, holding her close. "Well done, Cuddles," he said as he kissed the top of her head. "Let's get you home."

"I'm free," she said with a giggle and put her arms around his neck. "I'm free!"

"Yes, you are. Just don't leave me, okay?"

"Never."

They had fallen asleep the moment they hit the bed the night after the confrontation, both too tired to have celebratory sex. Well, Kol wasn't, but he didn't want to force himself upon Bella. All the tension, worries and stress she had endured because of the Cullens had escaped her, she was really free now and he noticed that while she slept. She stopped kicking and hitting him in her sleep. Not that she did that a lot, and he gladly took the abuse because she didn't hit him that hard and it was adorable, but it was noticeably absent this night.

He decided to surprise her with breakfast in bed with her favorite pastries and some fresh orange juice but by the time he returned, she was out of bed and in the bathroom. "Hey, that's not fair, I got you breakfast in bed!" He complained as he set the tray on the bed and went to join her. His naked goddess was taking a soak in the tub and she had the biggest smile on her face.

"I'm sorry," she apologized. "I hadn't planned on leaving the bed, really, but Jake called and then I had to pee."

"Well, then I'm joining you," Kol shrugged as he started to get out of his shirt and sweatpants. "Why did Jake call?"

"To warn me that the Cullens were nowhere to be seen."

"And what did you say?"

"That we kicked their butt," she giggled as Kol slipped behind her into the tub. "And that they can stop being all wolfie and get on with their lives."

"Great advice," he said as he started to kiss her neck. "Ready to get on with yours?"

"Hmm…" Bella sighed as she closed her eyes and leaned into him, his arms firmly around her to prevent her from slipping. "I thought I was already doing that?"

"Yes, but now you can move on completely because you've been able to deal with your past. Not everyone gets a chance to do that, to make a clean break and move on."

"True," she grinned and then was quiet for a moment as she thought about it a little. "I want to find a j-"

"No. The j-word and the w-word are forbidden."

Bella laughed and splashed some water in his face. "Can you let me finish?"

"Sure, without using the j-word or the w-word."

She huffed. "Fine. I want to find a place of employment so I can get some money and then maybe, we could go to Walt Disney World?"

Kol laughed and playfully bit her shoulder. Smartass. "First of, you don't need to find a place of employment. Secondly… Disney World? Is that the best you can do? I was thinking about showing you every nook and cranny of Europe."

She turned around to sit on her knees and put her arms around his neck. "Yes. Disney World. You know why? It's the ultimate place of happiness, isn't it? I've been wanting to go ever since I was a little girl and I know it's really girly of me to want to go there. However, if you don't want to come with, I can completely understand."

"I think your definition of happiness is a little skewed, my darling," he said and softly kissed her lips. "Happiness is more than just Disney, rainbows and unicorns. For example, I've never been happier in my life now you're in it."

"So am I," she smiled at him. "Okay, fine," she sighed. "See it as a celebration for us. Start of something new."

"Now, see? I can get behind that." He tucked a strand of her hair behind her ear. "I can understand your reasoning for independence and needing money to do so, but why not focus all that energy in living life to the fullest? Have the time of our lives doing whatever the hell we want? You and me. Not a care in the world."

"But…"

He shut her up by kissing her. "Not a care in the world. Screw being responsible. Life's too short to be responsible."

She let out a deep sigh and kissed him eagerly as she pressed herself against him. "Why the hell not…" she said as she kept kissing him.

After making out in the tub for a while, the water had significantly cooled off and he decided to take this to the bedroom. Just about as they were hitting the bed, someone knocked on their door. "Go away, we're busy!"

"I can hear that, but I need to talk to Bella," Peter's voice sounded. "Since you two are planning on leaving tonight, I think it's important."

"We are?" Bella giggled as she looked at Kol.

"Yeah, why not?" He replied with a shrug before putting her down on the bed and opened the door, not bothering to get any clothes on for two reasons; one, he didn't care and two, Peter was disturbing them and knew exactly what he was getting himself into. Kol looked over his shoulder and saw that Bella hadn't made an attempt of covering herself up either, apart from her nether regions.

She did, however, manage to kick the breakfast tray off the bed, pastries and orange juice was everywhere. "Oops," she smirked as she looked at him.

"Excuse me," Peter apologized as he entered the room. "Sorry to interrupt, but Klaus sent me on an errand and I doubt I'll be back before you two leave."

"It's fine," Bella sighed after a moment of thought. Carefree meant not giving a fuck, right? Well, she was trying! "What's up?"

"Oh, I don't know where to begin or how to spin it without angering you so, I'll just say it and you can do with the information whatever you want, okay?"

Bella nodded as she hugged her knees to her chest.

"Alright. Jasper was proud of you. He loved the person who you've become and even though you don't have to worry about anything at the moment because you're with Kol, he wanted to make sure that you wouldn't be left out in the cold if things would go badly between you two," Peter said, holding out his hands defensively. "Don't get mad, it's just because you're both still young and you have a long life ahead of you, okay? Relationships end, no matter how good they feel or how much you love each other."

"No, it's okay," Bella smiled at Peter as she rested her chin on her knees. "Jasper liked to be practical and well prepared."

"He also considered you to be his heir. And he knew that you two weren't as close as you used to be and that was his fault entirely, but still, he cared." He handed her the folder with the paperwork. "This is your bank account now. Enough to have you be independent, comfortable and set up for the rest of your life. Do with it as you wish." He tapped the folder and smiled. "He wanted to give you this himself, but yeah. Life had other plans." Peter straightened himself and nodded. "Once again, I'm sorry for interrupting you guys, but I have to go and take care of something for Klaus. He's given me a daylight ring, it's so nice not to sparkle!"

Bella laughed. "Have fun and thank you."

"You're welcome. Don't be a stranger, okay? Send a card every once in a while."

She nodded and watched Peter leave their room again. She put the folder aside and pulled Kol closer to her. "Where were we?"

"No, no, no," Kol snorted as he pushed her down to the bed and reached for the folder. "You need to read this. Aren't you the least bit curious?"

"You are," she grinned as she swatted his hand away from the folder and rolled him over so she could sit on top of him. "What happened to not having a care in the world, mr. Mikaelson?" Bella said as she pinned his arms down next to him. "Doesn't that involve welcoming surprises?"

"Yeah, but…"

"But what?" she smirked as she started to kiss his torso. "Your words."

"Uhuh, so if we have to believe Peter we'll be leaving tonight?"

Bella shrugged as she continued to trail kisses all over his torso, neck and jaw. "We could prove him wrong and leave tomorrow."

"Or this afternoon," Kol laughed as he started to wrestle himself out of Bella's hold and flopped her onto the bed when he was successful.

"That's a little too crazy," she snorted as she started to tickle him, screaming when he started to tickle her.

"Is it?" he said, pinning her down to the bed and hovered over her. "It's almost a nine-hour drive, I doubt we can get plane tickets. Imagine this, having sex in the Disney World hotel…"

"Don't tempt me," Bella groaned as she looked at him. She couldn't believe the look on his face, the look of determination and lust. "You're serious."

"I'd say… the hell with sex now… have a healthy build-up for nine hours… then have mind blowing sex… pass out… and then spend the next day in the park… have sex again…"

"You're forgetting a step there," she whispered as she wrapped her legs around him to pull him closer. "In those nine hours, I'll give you a blow job while you continue driving…"

"Oh, fuck it," he groaned as he let out a breath and guided himself inside of her. "You and your dirty mouth…"

"Yay," she moaned with a big smile on her face as he started to thrust.


	21. Epilogue

[2088 - New Orleans]

"Family reunion?"

Klaus looked up to the all too familiar voice of the one woman he regret hurting all these years ago. She would have his balls for breakfast if she'd been able to kill him. Sighing, he returned his gaze to the scene below them. It was a bit silly that he and his siblings hadn't been invited for the ceremony itself, but that didn't mean that he didn't have his way of watching three generations of Mikaelson witches bury their beloved mother, grandmother, great grandmother and aunt.

Bella and Kol became revolutionaries when they finally returned from their trip around the world. It had been a surprise for him that they returned with two children in tow and pregnant with the third. They became regents of the witches of New Orleans with ease, restructured the way magic was being used, that it wasn't something to be feared but to be used as entertainment as well as a means to defend oneself. For years, the vampires lived peacefully amongst witches because of them.

Marcel, and Davina, were grateful that Bella and Kol made the harvest unnecessary. Old rules were gone, new rules were set in place. It had been amusing to see Bella go head to head with dead ancestors because of this, but in the end she had managed to convince them that change was for the better. And it was. Klaus' night and day walkers didn't have to worry about getting hexed, for one.

What was he? Not family enough? Had they forgotten that the other half that gave them life had been his brother? Or was it simply because he, Elijah and Rebekah were vampires? While he knew that Bella and Kol had been raising their offspring to keep an open mind, once they had been old enough to formulate a normal thought for themselves, they'd started to avoid coming to the compound and stayed with the rest of the witches.

Bella still came to visit, of course. Always loyal to a fault, especially after Kol's death. It was as if she spent her day only to visit Kol's grave and then check up on Klaus. Elijah and Rebekah had left years ago, fed up with Klaus' constant manipulation, wanting everything to be perfect for his daughter Hope, who was now starting her own family with an idiot called Rafe. For years, Klaus had spooked off potential suitors, even killed one or two as no one was good enough for his girl. Until Rafe. Rafe was an idiot, sure, but unlike any of the others, he genuinely seemed to care, wanted to make Hope his priority and she was happy, so what could he do against that?

But Bella thought that Klaus had become lonely without Kol, without Elijah and Rebekah to keep him company. She disliked Marcel, still after all these years, and it wasn't as if he was around much, always running around dealing with his vampire empire as Klaus' second in command. For the last ten years Klaus had hoped that the old bat would just off herself, but she couldn't. She had promised Kol on his deathbed that she would not follow him with self inflicted wounds. She had to continue live a full life.

For some reason, Klaus always thought that was a bit barmy. The two of them had been obsessed with each other, breathed each other in, day and night. For Bella to be on her own for 15 years was just torture. Then again, she was probably going to give Kol hell for that once they met up again.

"They're consecrating a great witch," Klaus evenly replied, not looking up from the scene below. "My sister in law. Those are her progeny."

"Congratulations," Sameen replied evenly as she leaned against the barrier he was leaning against and reached for his balls over his jeans. "I should rip these and feed them to you. You're a fucking asshole."

"I had to leave you behind. I had no right to intrude on your life like that."

"If you mean changing me? Yeah. You had no right. I was willing to die for them. And I did."

"And then you came back."

"You could have stuck around long enough to teach me, you know. Instead, a witch whisked me away, taught me everything she knew before she got killed by the people I had died for as they thought she was part of Samaritan." She tightened her grip on his balls. "I buried Root last week. She was the last one to go. I never bothered to ask the machine for a new team."

"You were doing great work, you loved it." Klaus groaned as he tried to pry her hands off his groin, it was starting to get unpleasant now. "I'm not going to apologize."

"I don't expect you to," she said, releasing him. "I'm just informing you that I've relocated here. With the Machine. She's evolved in something spectacular over the years, managed to upgrade herself. Of course, with Harold gone, she could do whatever the hell she wanted because I let her. We're doing great things."

"The humans of New Orleans are all yours."

"What about you?"

He turned around to face her and smirked. "Sure, why not?"

[2288 - Mystic Falls]

"You fucker!"

Klaus dodged his brother's fist. It was typical, wasn't it? Resurrect someone and get smacked around as a thank you. "You should feed, you've been gone for too long," he replied evenly as he nodded towards the people gathered in the Fifth incarnation of the Mystic Grill. It looked just as naff as it did all those years ago when he first came into town to kill the doppelganger and break his curse, but the food had gotten significantly better. "Have a Lockwood for lunch."

The next hit connected to his jaw. "We left specific instructions, Niklaus," Kol breezed as he kept hitting his older brother. "Under no circumstance were Bella and I to be brought back. None. Not even because you're bored. We wanted to be left in peace."

"Yes. And you know how well I do with instructions," Klaus smirked as he took hold of his brother's naked body - resurrection does that, no clothes and all - and threw them towards the humans Klaus had compelled for his brother to feast on. "Let's have some fun! Just like old times, remember New Orleans? 1821, that tenement building? That was such fun!"

Kol growled as he sunk his teeth into one of the humans out of frustration, drinking greedily.

Sameen looked at the scene before her in disgust. Niklaus had been bored, borderline depressed, the last 150 years or so and she had always managed to stop him from finding a strong enough witch to resurrect his brother with his ashes. There was no point in bringing in a third person in their little party, they had a good thing going. Even when his own line of descendants died out due to them unwilling to have children, Klaus came back from that darkness quite easily.

That was until around 30 years ago when Klaus had killed yet another one of his brother's descendants and was banished from New Orleans. If there was one thing that Klaus didn't handle very well it was rejection.

Not just Klaus, but also every other Mikaelson vampire. There were six of them, all blood relatives to Kol and Bella Mikaelson. Two had been sired by Rebekah out of pity as they had been ill, two had been sired by Niklaus and the last one had just been turned by Damon Salvatore, just to prove that he could get into New Orleans and to annoy Klaus.

Sameen had wanted to kill Damon, but Klaus wouldn't let her. His reasoning was 'the more family, the better, seeing as my own siblings don't seem to care about me anymore'. She was fed up with his beaten puppy routine. And now that he had resurrected his brother, stories had told her that as a vampire, he had been just as bad as Niklaus, things were going to go downhill soon. She just knew it.

[2310 - New Orleans]

"Surely there must be someone who can help you guys?" Sameen asked one of the witches. Word had been sent for her to Mystic Falls and she had been granted magical permission to enter the city lines. They must have been desperate.

Sameen had been grateful for the little break she had received due to the witches' problems. Klaus and Kol had been terrorizing Mystic Falls since 2288. Not killing anyone, just compelling everyone to do their bidding. It had been hard to do her own work with the Machine while she needed to keep an eye on the siblings, because she knew, she _knew_, that if she left, the number of people living in Mystic Falls would dwindle.

Fortunately, she had found an ally in Caroline Forbes and Stefan Salvatore, who, despite not being able to hold their own against two Originals, promised to keep an eye out and if things would escalate, they would call her and she'd be back immediately.

Vanja huffed. "As if my mum and grandfather would do anything against those Bennett witches. Everyone is scared shitless of what they can do and yet, they keep saying that they should have stayed in their own corner."

"Well, it went well for so long, it was bound to go wrong at one point, yes?" It had been interesting to see how a long line of Salem witches had been scattering themselves across the United States, gaining power and followers and had even managed to weasel their way into New Orleans, which was mostly run by Mikaelson witches. "Who's your regent again?"

"My mum. She took over from granddad a few years back, but she's a pushover."

Sameen made a disapproving sound. "That's no way to speak about your own mother."

"Are you kidding? She's under some influence or something because she's reinstated the harvest! Do you know what that means? Her own child, my sister, will be sacrificed soon for no reason. There hasn't been any indication that our powers are getting weaker. In fact, it only seems to grow stronger and I've spoken to some ancestors and they said that if mum does this, if she won't get stopped, our powers will get weaker because we've committed an act of violence against our own kind."

"So what do you want me to do? Kill your mother?"

Vanja was quiet for a moment, as if she was seriously considering it. "No. I want you to find me a witch strong enough to stop her."

She snorted. "Honey, I'm a vampire and I'm currently dealing with Klaus and some of your other vampire family members. Did you know that he's resurrected Kol, your ancestor?"

"It's true then? They're in Mystic Falls?" Vanja said, suddenly turning pale.

"Snacking away. So. Why won't you help me with my problem and I'll try to help you with yours."

"We can't do anything about my cousin," an older man, Duke, if Sameen remembered correctly. "She has the ancestors under her control, real power hungry. My dad shouldn't have named her after Esther."

"Ah."

"And we have more problems than just the Bennett witches. They're stronger than us, yes, but maybe it's not so bad to hand over the reigns to them. It's not as if our family has done anything significant for years."

"That's not true!" Malin, Vanja's twin sister, piped up. "It's just that technology and science have made us lazy. The Bennett's aren't stronger than us, if anything, we're stronger than them. And if you think that we haven't done anything significant lately… your father's responsible for getting that protection spell up. Nearly every vampire has been purged from New Orleans."

"And if he hadn't done that, we wouldn't be in this mess to begin with."

"Woah, what mess? What aren't you telling me?" Sameen said surprised.

"The werewolves have chased us out of our homes. They've aligned themselves with the Bennett witches." Vanja shrugged. "Which is why we're across the river."

"Fight back?"

"Hadn't the vampires been purged from the city, the population of the werewolves would have been controlled. My father thought that it would be a good thing to have a New Orleans without vampires, but this really is a magical city. All four parts, human, witch, werewolf and vampire, need to be in the perfect balance."

"Drop the barrier."

"I got it!" A blonde girl ran into the loft, panting, carrying a grimoire. "You guys really don't know your history very well, do you? You only know of Kol, the big bad wolf when he was a vampire, a kitten as a witch."

"It's irrelevant, Mandy." Malin rolled her eyes. It was hard to believe that the girls were relatives, even so many generations apart. Besides, she was a geek, she'd get a total boner from old books.

"Hi, Mandy Claire," she introduced herself to Sameen. "We Claire witches are still around too, not happy with how the Mikaelsons have been handling things but we're not strong enough to dethrone them, yadayadayada."

"Sam. Nice to meet you," the vampire replied, amused by this little witch. She didn't look like much, but her experience told her that it was always worth a shot to hear someone like that out. "What's your idea?"

"Well, they seem to think that being a Mikaelson is the most important thing, you know. But it's not." She smacked the book on the table. "Everything's digitalized, uploaded to their brains but the tech was made years ago and made by humans and humans are falliable. They forget things or leave things out on purpose. And who bothered with women back then anyway?" Mandy nodded towards her far removed cousins. "They've been relying a lot on new technology and barely look in books anymore. Their knowledge is universal, everyone knows the same thing."

"Great, she's insulting us." Malin sighed.

"No, I'm not. You've just become slaves to having things handed to you thanks to technology. Nobody bothers with real books anymore. Like I said, tech made and coded by humans and that can be manipulated. Not handwritten stuff so I snuck to the tomb and…"

"You went across the river?" Vanja gasped. "Do you have a death wish?"

"No," she looked at her friend, briefly, before pointing at the book. "The Mikaelsons even have power outside of New Orleans and they take that for granted."

"It's because of one of our ancestors," Old Duke said, half shrugging, the story lost on him, really. He never realized that before Mandy pointed it out just now. "I just can't remember the story."

"Yeah, duh. The most important one! Resurrect her, and she can fix everything. The imbalance, Klaus and Kol, the Bennett witches, whatever."

"No one's that powerful."

"Oh for fuck's sake!" Mandy cried out and opened the book. "Seriously, this is history. You'd think that the most important story of your line would survive generation upon generation. Read this, then come up with a plan!"

[January 15, 2311]

"What the fuck?" The woman said evenly as she sat up and looked at her surroundings.

"Welcome back," Vanja Mikaelson smiled widely as she got to her feet.

The woman huffed as she looked at her hands, they were unfamiliar to her. She got a glance of strands of hair and blinked. She was a blonde! "What the fuck!"

"Relax," Sameen said as she was leaning against the wall. She hadn't believed it was actually possible to see another resurrection, and this wasn't a real resurrection, was it? She was possessing a body. "The host of the body you are currently in has willingly given it to you. There wasn't any force or anything else."

"And how do you know?" She shot at the vampire.

"Hey, relax," Vanja said soothingly. "You're in my sister Daisy's body. She's 19 years old and she was more than willing to sacrifice herself for the greater good. She's moved on."

"This is fucked up." She got to her feet, a little bit unsteady at first and then continued to walk around. "What year is this?"

"2311."

"Fuck. How long have I been dead for?"

"223 years."

"I left instructions."

"We know and we're sorry but we could really use your help," Malin got to her feet and started to walk next to the woman. "If it's of any consolation, your husband is back too."

"No shit," Bella huffed, tugging on her hair. She was a blonde? How did that happen? "He disappeared one day, Klaus had something do with it, didn't he?"

"We really need your help."

"You're not getting it," Bella said resolutely, angry because they couldn't follow simple instructions. "Where can I find my husband?" Now that she was in a different body, she could play the ultimate prank on him. Oh yes. That was going to be hilarious.

"But…"

She growled and froze everyone in place before making her way over to the vampire. "Tell me where he is now, or I will kill you."

Sameen smirked. "Unfreeze me, and I will take you to him. You have my word as Niklaus' mate."

Bella looked at the vampire, surprised. "Huh."

A/N: Thank you all for sticking with me and Sanctuaire as I posted it and for your reviews! Head over to my website for some extra stuff! xxx Buggy.

Next project will be a Twilight/Teen Wolf one shot and then I'm going to write a sequel to Sanctuaire!


	22. AN

Sorry! No new chapter, we all know it finished with the Epilogue! This story has been complete for months!

But I want to thank all of you for reading and commenting on Sanctuaire. In case you're not aware, I'm working on the sequel to Sanctuaire called Pandore. It will bridge a gap of 300 years and it'll be fun. 12 chapters have already been uploaded and I'm curious to what you guys think!

Pandore is also close to being finished :-)

Love to you all,

Buggy.


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